Iran AH 1221 toman
This specimen was lot 625 in Stephen Album sale 32 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2018), where it sold for $763.75. The catalog description[1] noted, "QAJAR: Fath 'Ali Shah, 1797-1834, AV toman, Shiraz, AH1221, dated on both sides, with mint epithet Dar al-'Ilm, lustrous example! NGC graded MS63." The Qajars were a group of Turkic origin who lived in the area of Azerbaijan. They were sympathetic to the Safavids, who ruled in Persia from 1501-1736 AD. The Qajar Dynasty began when Mohammad Khan Qajar seized Mashhad (then under Durrani suzerainty – see Afghanistan) and put an end to the Afsharid Dynasty. The Qajars were forced to fight several defensive wars against Russia, losing territory each time. Foreign powers became more involved in Persia as the strategic nature of the region became clear. The empire was nearly bankrupt by the end of the 1800’s, and the dynasty finally fell when Reza Khan, a commander of the Persian Cossack Brigade, led a coup d’etat and launched the Pahlavi Dynasty in 1925 AD. This gold denomination was struck at numerous mints during the reign of Fath 'Ali Shah. It is listed from Shiraz for AH 1228-1249.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 4.8 g, gold.
Catalog reference: A-2859, KM-unlisted.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 32, featuring the Don Erickson Collection of German Coins, Part II and the Hazerfans Collection of Ottoman Empire Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2018.
Link to:
- Iran AH 1213 toman KM-739.1 Isfahan mint
- Iran AH 1228 toman KM-749.2 Isfahan mint
- Coins and currency dated 1806