Okay, well I got this coin today at my coin shop, it was extremely inexpensive, but looked interesting. The only info I have is what they had written on the 2x2. It says: '1235 - 1313 India Silver Sultan Delhi Mohammed' so, since that isn't very helpful, I was hoping someone might recognize this coin type, and be able to tell me the denomination, and ruler, and all of that good stuff.....I know it would be hard to guess the denomination, but I put a U.S. Quarter next to it for size comparison anyway. I may not have the coin oriented properly. Much thanks.
1993 India 10 Paise Error coin Also, I won this 1993 India 10 Paise Error coin on their 'Bid Board' for a couple dollars. I think it's pretty interesting. It was sold as being 'double struck' .... is it? is that what type of error this is?
The first looks like an early Indian Rupee. There's many different styles, so it'll take a while to find your particular one. try to Google "India Silver Sultan Delhi Mohammed rupee or coin" to see what you get. I've seen similar coins go in the $5 - $10 to $20 range.
The first is a 2 gani (AKA dugani - about 3.5g of 8% silver billon) of 'Ala-ud-din Muhammad Shah 1296-1316 AD Sultan of Delhi cataloging Tye (Jitals) 419. These are year dated to between 696 and 715 AH in Hindu characters but your coin is off center the wrong way for this to be clear. There is a trace of the last digit showing outside the circle at about 10 o'clock which makes me really suspect it is a 7 but I have no idea how to tell if it was 697 or 707 AH. The issue is always on a small, thick flan losing part of the legend according to the pictures I've seen. I do not own one but they are listed as very common. Now that you have made me look them up, I'll be seeking one with full date. I have no idea what the rest of the legends say but I hope you can research all you want to know from the start given.
For what it is worth the names of rulers in this region confuses Westerners like me but I am reasonably sure that this is the same guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alauddin_Khilji Note a similar coin is shown part way down the page labeled as 'copper' but at a theoretical 8% many coins would look more coppery than yours.
Thanks alot Doug, that's precisely what I was looking for. I'm sure I can do some research on this coin with the info you have given me. also, could you tell me... do I have the coin correctly oriented in the photos? Thanks again.
Yes. Actually that worried me. How did you know which side was up? I found it interesting that the same ruler had a coin of different design vauled at 6 gani which was the same size and weight as this but was made from billon with three times the silver content. I thought yours looked better than the catalog listed 8% but could find no mention of this design used with the better billon. There are so many things I don't understand and don't have books that explain. The idea of same size coins made from different mixtures of the same metals is a bit unusual.
Well, I wasn't positive I had it the right way around, but I've seen a few older Indian coins before, and thought I had it oriented so the letters that I could see were right side up. That is unusual indeed doug, same coin denominations, same weight, different silver content. I agree that mine looks more silvery than it should for having just 8% silver. When I bought it, I assumed it was a higher purity of silver due to the look of it. Thanks for the help, it's an interesting coin and I like it. It's so far the only coin I have bridging the gap between my late Romans, and my coins from the 1600s.
When this thread started last month, I knew nothing about the coin but happened to own the book so was able to study up on them. That, of course, made me want to own one. Fortunately they are pretty common and there were several for sale on eBay at that time. I decided that I wanted one that was off center in the direction that would show the year date even though that would cost an equal amount of the opposite side (ruler name) so I bid on two coins that fit the requirement. Considering that they are cheap coins, I am not upset that I won both. The top below shows the date most clearly in Hindi / Arabic numerals at the upper left of the obverse. As luck would have it '700' is about as close to our modern '700' as you can get. 700 AH is roughly Oct. 1300 to Sep. 1301. The other one is year 698 AH so it shares no numeral. Both are lower grade silver looking than the one that started this thread appears to be. This has always been the problem: Learn about a coin I don't have; Want an example; Buy another coin; Repeat.
Those are nice looking coins with pretty clear legends you got there, and the silver still doesn't look nearly as bad as the percentages these are supposed to be around. I can see where the date is on the coin now after seeing yours, and see that mine is mostly off the coin. I'm glad my thread got you interested in checking these coins out further I know what you mean about learning about a new coin and then wanting to aquire an example and et cetera. Thanks again for the info, all very helpful and interesting stuff. Nice coins.
