Z̤afar Ḵẖ̱ān, viceroy of the wealthy province of Gujarāt, threw off
his allegiance to Sultan Maḥmūd II of Dehlī in 1403, but the first
coins known are those of his grandson, Aḥmad I (1411-43), founder of
the great city of Aḥmadābād in A.H. 813 and of Aḥmadnagar in A.H. 829.
The dynasty reached the culmination of its power in the long reign of
Maḥmūd I (1458-1511), who instituted two new mints at Muṣt̤afaʾābād
in Girnār, and Muḥammadābād (Champānīr). He was succeeded by eight
princes, of whom Bahādur Shāh (1526-36) alone showed any ruling
ability. The province was added to the Mug̱ẖal Empire in 1572, but the
deposed king, Muz̤affar III, regained his throne for five months eleven
years later, and actually struck silver and copper of the Mug̱ẖal
Aḥmadābād type. Coins of nine of the fifteen kings are known.
The coinage, chiefly of silver and copper, at its commencement followed
the Dehlī style, but soon developed a characteristic fabric of its own,
though the late Dehlī copper type, with the Sultan’s name in a square
area, never entirely lost its influence in Gujarāt (Pl. IX, 6, 7). The
standard seems, however, always to have been a local one, based on the
weight of the Gujarātī rati of 1·85 grains. Gold pieces, except those
of Maḥmūd III (1553-61; Pl. IX, 6), are rare. Maḥmūd I also employed
billon, and his coins are the finest of the series. His silver coins,
on which the legends are enclosed in hexagons, scolloped circles and
other figures, are very ornate. The inscriptions are for the most
part simple; on the obverse appear various titles and formulæ, on the
reverse the king’s name, sometimes accompanied by his _laqab_ (kingly
title). The earliest Persian couplet to appear on an Indian coin is
found on one of Maḥmūd II, dated A.H. 850. It runs as follows:
_So long as the sphere of the seat of the mint,_
_the orb of the sun and moon remains,_
_May the coin of Maḥmūd Shāh the Sultan,_
_the aid of the Faith, remain._
Perhaps the most interesting of the Gujarāt series are the so-called
“pedigree coins,” each struck probably for some special occasion,
on which the striker traces his descent back to the founder of the
dynasty. Only four silver coins of this class have been recorded, two
of Aḥmad I, one dated A.H. 828 and the earliest known Gujarāt coin, one
of Maḥmūd I, and one of Bahādur Shāh.
Although the majority of coins were probably struck at Aḥmadābād,
the name actually occurs only on the copper of Muz̤affar III of the
years A.H. 977 and 978. _Aḥmadnagar_, accompanied by an uncertain
epithet, is inscribed on the copper of Aḥmad I from A.H. 829 onwards.
_Shahr-i-a’z̤am_ (“_the very great city_”) _Muṣt̤afaʾābād_ appears on
silver and copper, and _Shahr-i-mukarram_ (“_the illustrious city_”)
_Muḥammadābād_ on all the finest silver pieces of Maḥmūd I.
Muz̤affar III granted permission to the Jām of Navānagar to coin
“korīs” (_i.e._ copper pieces), provided that they should bear the
king’s name. Such korīs, bearing debased Gujarāt legends, were also
coined for several centuries by the chiefs of Jūnagaḍh and Purbandar.
[Illustration: Fig. 9. Mint marks on Mug̱ẖal coins.]