Iran AH 1301 shahi KM-965
This specimen was lot 3809 in Stephen Album sale 50 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2024), where it sold for $96. The catalog description[1] noted, "IRAN: Nasir al-Din Shah, 1848-1896, AR shahi sefid, Tehran, AH1301, an attractive mint state example, PCGS graded MS62. The 'shahi sefid' (white shahi) were intended mainly as 'nowruz' (new year) gifts and were valued at 150 dinars. They were struck on broader and thinner planchets than the smallest other silver denomination, the quarter kran or 'robi' (250 dinars). This made for a slightly more impressive present at a lower production cost for the mint." The SCWC lists this type for AH 1314-1319 and undated. The digits of the date were punched in around the lion's legs. The catalog notes that some undated examples show traces of the old date (specifically AH 1301) from the recycled die. This example is too poorly struck to tell for sure.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.80 g, 0.800 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM-965.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 50, featuring selections from the Dr. Robert A. Rosenfeld Collection, the Hakim Hamidi Collection, the Almer H. Orr III Collection and the Solar Collection, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2024.
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