Iraq AH 974 shahi
This specimen was lot 444 in Steve Album Auction 54 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2026), where it sold for $10,800. The catalog description[1] noted, "OTTOMAN EMPIRE: Selim II, 1566-1574, AR shahi, Basra, AH974, royal legend, mint, and date on the obverse, with the phrase khalad Allah mulkuhu, not found on any gold or large silver coins of Selim II, and with the reverse phrase 'sultan of the two lands and khaqan of the two seas, the sultan, son of the sultan', not found on any other coins of Selim II, but introduced with increasing frequency by his successor Murad III; an exceedingly rare type, unpublished and apparently unique, cleaned, NGC graded XF details, RRR. The weight of this and subsequent Basran shahis correspond to the Iranian mithqal, the weight of the Iranian two-shahi silver coin through, retained only at the Basra mint until the reign of Murad IV." The Ottomans conquered Iraq from Iran in 1534 but lost it to them during 1623-39. The Safavids attacked Iraq again in 1733 but failed to take the province. This shahi was struck in Basra in the early period of Ottoman rule.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 4.94 g.
Catalog reference: A-1325S, unlisted in Damali.
- Album, Stephen, Checklist of Islamic Coins, 3rd Ed. Santa Rosa, Stephen Album Rare Coins, 2011.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Hanbing Feng, Auction 54, featuring selections from the Kenneth A. Bovenkamp Collection of Ottoman Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2025.
Link to:
- Iraq AH 942 sultani, Baghdad mint
- Iraq AH 982 dirham, Mosul mint
- Coins and currency dated 1566