Iran AH 940 ashrafi
This specimen was lot 76424 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2024), where it sold for $384. The catalog description[1] noted, "IRAN. Safavid Dynasty. Ashrafi, AH 940 (1533/34). Tabriz Mint. Tahmasp I. NGC MS-63. This alluring Choice Mint State example displays a bold luster, with fully formed calligraphy and oozing with brilliance. Escaping most of the weakness that often plaques the type, with this example only being a hint of such at the peripheries." Altho Friedberg mentions an ashrafi for shah Ismail I (Fr-1), only mithqals (Fr-3 thru Fr-4c) are listed for Tahmasp I. However, the auction records show heavy ashrafis for this ruler from Tabriz (shown here), Qom, Ardabil and Kashan. In addition, we can't find the date ("٩٤٠") mentioned by the auctioneers. The ashrafi (3.5 g) superseded the mithqal during the reign of shah Abbas (1587-1629).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.38 g, gold, 19 mm diameter, this specimen 3.88 g.
Catalog reference: A-A2593 (R), Fr-unlisted.
- Album, Stephen, Checklist of Islamic Coins, 3rd Ed. Santa Rosa, Stephen Album Rare Coins, 2011.
- 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.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, September 2024 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
Link to:
- Iran AH 929 shahi Sari mint
- AH 929 (1523) ashrafi, Yazd mint
- AH 930 (1524) 1/6 mithqal, Shiraz mint
- Iran AH 941 1/2 mithqal, Tabriz mint
- Iran AH 945 shahi Kirman mint
- Coins and currency dated 1533