Mughal Empire AH 1166/6 rupee KM-446.39
This specimen was lot 2503 in Stephen Album sale 50 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2024), where it sold for $570. The catalog description[1] noted, "MUGHAL: Ahmad Shah Bahadur, 1748-1754, AR rupee, Narwar, year 6, fabulous strike, NGC graded MS66, R." This rupee (type 446) was struck at 43 mints, including Narwar. This mint struck this type years 1 thru 6. The AH date is off the planchet but the regnal date "٦" is visible on the reverse.
Wikipedia notes, "Ahmad Shah Bahadur, also known as Mirza Ahmad Shah or Mujahid-ud-Din Ahmad Shah Ghazi (23 December 1725 – 1 January 1775) was born to Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah. He succeeded his father to the throne as the 13th Mughal Emperor in 1748 at the age of 22. When Ahmed Shah Bahadur came to power, the Mughal Empire was collapsing. Furthermore, his administrative weaknesses eventually led to the rise of the usurping Feroze Jung III. He was emperor in title for six years, but left all affairs of state to rivalling factions. He was deposed by the Vizier Feroze Jung III and later blinded along with his mother. He spent the remaining years of his life in prison and died of natural causes in January 1775."
Recorded mintage: unknown but a scarce mint.
Specification: 11.0-11.6 g, silver.
Catalog reference: KM-446.39.
- Album, Stephen. Checklist of Islamic Coins. Santa Rosa, 1998. Stephen Album.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [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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