Afghanistan SH1317 8 grams
This specimen was lot 33004 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, May 2024), where it sold for $1,140. The catalog description[1] noted, "AFGHANISTAN. 8 Grams, SH 1317 (1938). Mohammad Zahir Shah. NGC MS-63. Surpassed in the NGC census by just two examples, this Choice offering presents an olive-yellow hue with immense brilliance." This type was struck SH 1314-1317 and indeed weighs 8 grams. Its face value is uncertain but was probably meant to trade for a sovereign; a accompanying four grams likely equaled a half sovereign. The Solar Hegira calendar, used here, starts on the same date as the traditional Hegira calendar but uses solar years rather than lunar years.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 8 g, 0.900 fine gold, 22 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Fr-40; KM-934.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, May 2024 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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