Malwa AH 839 tanka Fr-633
This specimen was lot 23267 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2023), where it sold for $5,760. The catalog description[1] noted, "INDIA. Sultans of Malwa. Tanka, AH 839 (1435). Shadiabad Mint. Muhammad Shah I. NGC MS-62. All known coinage of Muhammad Shah I is EXTREMELY RARE, as he died in the first months of AH 839 with most of his coinage being produced posthumously before the position of his successor was secured. Tankas were struck in both AH 839 and 840, with the 839 issues having the date on the central legends and the 840 examples with the date in the peripheral legends. The present specimen displays a clear date of 839 in the central legends, with most of the peripheral legends also remaining present. In our research we were able to find no other examples of this type trading, with one example in silver dated AH 839 selling at a 2007 Spink auction. No example in gold is featured in The Coins of the Indian Sultanates, with the type being mentioned however on page 432. As such this example must be counted as amongst the RAREST of Sultanate coinage, and a type worthy of intense demand. This example delivers a full strike and shimmer and soft golden luster throughout. Most of the legends are present, and this piece escapes the testmarks that are so prevalent on Sultanate coinage. An impressive type that is virtually unknown in gold presently, and as such we expect many excited bidders seeking to add this Tanka to their holdings." The Sultans of Malwa ruled their state in central India from 1392 to 1562 and issued a number of gold coins based on the tanka. Some of them are actually not rare. The state was conquered by Akbar and was made part of the Mughal Empire.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 10.9 g, gold.
Catalog reference: cf. G&G-M12 (for silver Tanka), Fr-433.
- 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, The January 2023 NYINC Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Taraszka Collection and the Mark and Dottie Salton Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
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