1. Bābur: Lāhor. 936 A.H. AR. Wt. 69 grs.
Obv., in circle, the Kalima; margin, in segments, portions of
_Abābakri-ṣ-ṣadīq_ (“A, the faithful witness”),
_’Umru-l-fārūq_ (“’U, the discriminator between right and
wrong”), _’Us̤mān abu Nūrain_ (“’U, the father of two
lights”), _’Alīu-l-murtaẓa_ (“’A, the pleasing to God”).
Rev., within flattened mihrābi area, _Z̤ahīru-d-dīn Muḥammad
Bābur bādshāh ghāzī, 936_; above, _As-sult̤ānu-l-a
’z̤amu-l-khāqānu-mukarram_, “The most great sultan, the
illustrious emperor”; below, _Ḵẖ̱allada allaha ta’ālā
mulkahu wa salt̤anatuhu_, “May God Most High perpetuate
the kingdom and sovereignity” and, _Ẓuriba Lāhor_
“Struck at Lāhor.”
2. Humāyūn. AV. Wt. 16 grs.
Obv., in circle, the Kalima.
Rev., _Ḵẖ̱allada allaha ta’ālā mulkahu ... Muḥammad Humāyūn
bādshāh ghāzī_.
3. Sher Shāh. Āgra. 948 A.H. AR. Wt. 175 grs.
Obv., in square, the Kalima; margins as on No. 1.
Rev., in square, _Sher Shāh sult̤ān khallada allāhu mulkahu 948_;
below in Nāgarī, _Śrī Sēr Sāhī_ (an attempt at Sher Shāh’s
name).
Margins, _As-sult̤ānu-l-’ādil abu-l-muz̤affar_ (“The just sultan,
the father of the victorious”) _Farīdu-d-dīn ẓuriba Āgrah_.
4. Islām Shāh. Qanauj. 95—. Æ. Wt. 315 grs.
Obv., _Fī ’ahdi-l-amīru-l-ḥāmiu-d-dīni wa-d-dayān 95_—“In the
time of the prince, the defender of the faith of the requiter.”
Double bar, with knot in centre, bisects the legend.
Rev., _Abu-l-muz̤affar Islām Shāh bin Sher Shāh sult̤ān ẓuriba
Shergarh ’urf Qanauj ḵẖ̱allada allāhu mulkahu_, “The
father of the victorious, Islām Shāh, son of Sher Shāh,
sultan, struck (this coin) at Shergarh alias Qanauj; may God
perpetuate the kingdom.”
5. Sikandar Sūr. 962. AR. Wt. 174 grs.
Rev., in square, _Sult̤ān Sikandar Shāh Isma’īl Sūr 962_.
Margins illegible.
6. Akbar. Āgra. 981. AV. Wt. 167 grs.
Obv., in dotted border, the Kalima. Names of the four companions
and _981_.
Rev., _Ḵẖ̱allada mulkahu Jalālu-d-dīn Muḥammad Akbar bādshāh
g̱ẖāzī ẓuriba baldatī Āgrah_ (“Struck at Āgra town”).
7. Id: Aḥmadābād. 982. AR. Wt. 175 grs.
Rev., within dotted square border, _Jalālu-d-dīn Muḥammad Akbar
bādshāh g̱ẖāzī, 982_; margins, portions of
_As-sult̤ānu-l-a’z̤am ḵẖ̱allada allāhu ta’ālā mulkahu wa
salt̤anatahu ẓuriba daru-s-salt̤anati Aḥmadābād_ (“Struck
at the seat of sovereignty Aḥmadābād”).
8. Id: Āgra.[36] 50 R. AR. Wt. 175 grs.
Obv., in octagonal border, on ornamental ground, _Allāhu Akbar
jalla jalālahu_, “God is great, eminent is his glory.”
Rev., within similar border, _Ẓarb-i-Āgrah Amardād Ilāhī 50_,
“Struck at Āgra, Amardād Ilāhī year 50.”
9. Id: Āgra. [50 R.] AV. Wt. 182 grs.
Obv., within dotted circle, on ornamented ground, a duck to right.
10. Id: Dehlī. 43 R. Æ. Wt. about 640 grs.
Obv., _Tankah-i-Akbar Shāhī ẓarb-i-Dehlī_, Tankah of Akbar Shāh.
“Struck at Dehlī.”
Rev., _Māh Dī Ilāhī 43_, “In the month Dī, Ilāhī year 43.”
11. Id: Mintless. 43 R. AR. Wt. 87 grs. Half rupee.
Obv., within square dotted border, legend as on No. 8.
Rev., _Shahrīwar Ilāhī 43_.
12. Jahāngīr. 1014-1 R. AR. (A “Ḵẖ̱air qabūl.”)
Obv., within dotted border _Jahāngīr bādshāh ghāzī 1_.
Rev., _Khair qabūl_, “May these alms be accepted.”
[36] With the introduction of the Ilāhī coins, Persian gradually
supersedes Arabic in the inscriptions.
The one break in this monotonous Kashmīrī series occurs in the reign
of the tyrant Harsha-deva (1089-1111), who struck both gold and silver
in imitation of the ornate gold of Koṅgudeśa (Pl. VII, 5) in Southern
India, with an elephant’s head on the obverse. The same king also
issued a gold coin with a Horseman obverse and the usual seated goddess
on the reverse (Pl. VI, 14).
The sparseness and inferiority of the coinage during the period under
discussion in this chapter must be attributed chiefly to the general
insecurity, caused by the continual quarrels between the numerous petty
states. This state of unrest, together with the previous impoverishment
of the country at the hands of the Huns, doubtless accounts for the
small output of gold. It must be remembered that mercantile contracts
in India have always been carried on largely by notes of hand
(_hundīs_), and in times of disturbance these could be conveyed more
safely from city to city than coined money.
The scarcity of silver was due to other causes. At this period
the world supply of this metal seems to have been drawn chiefly
from Central Asia. The rise of the Arab power and the consequent
disturbances in Central Asia interrupted trade between India and the
west by land and sea, and must have curtailed, if they did not cut
off completely, the import of silver from abroad. So we find the
Rājpūt states reduced to employing an alloy, billon, which was almost
certainly used by them as a substitute for the more precious metal.
It is a most illuminating fact that gold, formerly exported from India,
disappears from the coinage of Europe at about this very period, while
silver is reduced to the meagre Carolingian _penny_ standard.
[Illustration: Fig. 6. Kanarese Script: _Mayili kāsu ippatu_, “A token
of 20 cash.”]