Iran AH 1278 toman KM-853.11
The Qajars were a group of Turkic origin who lived in the area of Azerbaijan. They were sympathetic to the Safavids, who ruled in Persia from 1501-1736 AD. The Qajar Dynasty began when Mohammad Khan Qajar seized Mashhad (then under Durrani suzerainty – see Afghanistan) and put an end to the Afsharid Dynasty. The Qajars were forced to fight several defensive wars against Russia, losing territory each time. Foreign powers became more involved in Persia as the strategic nature of the region became clear. The empire was nearly bankrupt by the end of the 1800’s, and the dynasty finally fell when Reza Khan, a commander of the Persian Cossack Brigade, held a coup d’etat and launched the Pahlavi Dynasty in 1925 AD.
The specimen shown was lot 739 in Steve Album sale 16 (Santa Rosa, CA, May 2013), where it sold for US$360. The catalog description reads[1]:
"QAJAR: Nasir al-Din Shah, 1848-1896, AV toman, Tabriz, AH1278, superb strike, without any weakness, choice EF."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.41 g, gold.
Catalog reference: A-2921, KM 853.11.
- Album, Stephen. Checklist of Islamic Coins. Santa Rosa, 1998. Stephen Album.
- 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, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Album, Stephen. Stephen Album Rare Coins - Auction 16. Santa Rosa, 2013. Stephen Album Rare Coins.
- Mitchiner, Michael. Oriental Coins and their Values - The World of Islam. London, 2000. Hawkins Publications.
Link to:
- AH 1274 (1857) toman, Qazwin mint
- AH 1274 (1857) toman, Tabriz mint
- AH 1278 1/8 kran, Tehran mint
- AH 1278 kran, Herat mint
- AH 1280 toman, Rasht mint
- AH 1280 toman, Tabaristan mint
- AH 1281 (1864) 50 dinars, bronze pattern
- AH 1297 10 toman, lion on obverse
- AH 1297 10 tomans
- return to coins of Iran
- Coins and currency dated 1861