Iran AH 1152 1/4 rupi KM-E385
This specimen was lot 543 in Stephen Album sale 47 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2023), where it sold for $3,120. The catalog description[1] noted, "AFSHARID: Nadir Shah, 1735-1747, AR 1/4 rupi (Murshidabad), AH1152, previously published by Whitehead (#54); = Zeno-147274, type F, used only at Murshidabad for the fractional rupis, all of the highest rarity, NGC graded MS62, RRRR. No examples on CoinArchives and no others on Zeno." The Afsharids were of Turkic origin, and the dynasty was founded by Nadir Shah when he deposed the last ruler of the Safavid Dynasty in 1736 AD. He expanded Persian rule to areas previously lost to the Ghilzai Afghans in the east and to the Ottomans in the west. However, he was assassinated in 1747 AD and thereafter the dynasty carried on in a weakened state. This rare issue was accompanied by 1/16, 1/8, 1/2 and whole rupis. All are rare; Peshawar and Bhakkar were the main mints.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 2.87 g, silver, this specimen 2.90 g.
Catalog reference: A-2746B, SICA-9:1407 (same dies), KM E385.
- Album, Stephen, Checklist of Islamic Coins, 3rd Ed. Santa Rosa, Stephen Album Rare Coins, 2011.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 47, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2023.
Link to:
- AH 1151 6 shahi, Isfahan mint
- AH 1151 rupi, Shahjahanabad mint
- AH 1151 ashrafi, Isfahan mint
- AH 1152 8 shahi (double abbasi), Mashhad mint
- AH 1152 rupi, Tiflis mint
- AH 1152 rupi, Multan mint
- AH 1152 2 rupi, Lahore mint
- AH 1152 ashrafi, Isfahan mint
- AH 1152 ashrafi, Tiflis mint
- AH 1153 rupi, Bhakhar mint
- AH 1153 rupi, Isfahan mint
- AH 1153 rupi, Nadirabad mint
- Coins and currency dated 1739