Afghanistan (1801-03) nazarana rupee
This specimen was lot 617 in Steve Album Auction 54 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2026), where it sold for $480. The catalog description[1] noted, "DURRANI: Mahmud Shah, 1801-1829, AR nazarana rupee, Bhakhar, ND, with Mahmud's first couplet, retained at Bhakhar into his 2nd reign; lightly cleaned, VF-XF, RRR." We file this issue with the Durranis of Afghanistan even though Bhakhar is now in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Wikipedia comments,
"Mahmud Shah Durrani (born Mahmud Mirza Durrani; c. 1769 – 18 April 1829) was the fourth ruler of the Durrani Empire. He reigned from 1801 to 1803 and again from 1809 to 1818. From 1818 to 1829, he ruled Herat."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 11.4-11.6 g, silver, this specimen 11.14 g.
Catalog reference: A-3131B, KM-308 (same reverse die as the illustrated example).
- Album, Stephen, Checklist of Islamic Coins, 3rd Ed. Santa Rosa, Stephen Album Rare Coins, 2011.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Hanbing Feng, Auction 54, featuring selections from the Kenneth A. Bovenkamp Collection of Ottoman Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2025.
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