Mughal Empire IE 41 rupee KM-93.2

Stack's Bowers May 2023 Collector's Choice sale, lot 72524

This specimen was lot 72524 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, May 2023), where it sold for $60. The catalog description^[1] noted, "INDIA. Mughal Empire. Rupee, IE 41 (1596). Ahmadabad Mint. Akbar I. NGC AU Details--Obverse Tooled. A lustrous Rupee with lovely warm-gray toning. The noted tooling is seen around the Arabic characters on the obverse but are fairly well hidden." The Mughal Empire stretched over most of India in the early seventeenth century and numerous mints struck silver rupees for the emperor. The Mughal Empire broke up in the eighteenth century under external attack, Hindu rebellion and civil war. This collapse allowed European colonizers entry into the subcontinent and eventual British control. The SCWC lists nineteen mints for this type, which was struck until 1606. The IE date on this specimen seems to be a regnal "Ilahi" calendar abandoned after Akbar's death. This type was struck years 45-50.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 11.2-11.6 g, silver.

Catalog reference: KM-93.2.

Source:

• Album, Stephen, Checklist of Islamic Coins, 3rd Ed. Santa Rosa, Stephen Album Rare Coins, 2011.
• Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
• ^[1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, May 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, Featuring the Richard Elliott Collection of Hooknecks, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.

Link to:

• IE 39 (1594) nazarana rupee, Ahmadabad mint
• IE 40 (1595-96) nazarana rupee, Lahore mint
• IE 41 (1596-97) square rupee, Delhi mint
• IE 42 (1597-98) square rupee, Tatta mint
• IE 42 (1597-98) nazarana rupee, Lahore mint
• IE 42 (1597-98) nazarana rupee, Patna mint
• Coins and currency dated 1596