Sale 9
Lot 1006
IRAN: Nasir al-Din Shah, 1831-1896, AV 10 toman, Tehran, AH1297, KM-945, Nasir al-Din Shah, original striking, couple minor rim bumps, lightly cleaned, Very Fine.
Estimate $7,000-8,000
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Lot 1070
YEMEN: Imam Ahmad, 1955-1962, AV riyal (4 sovereigns) (35.87g), San'a, AH1381, Y-G17.2, choice About Uncirculated.
Estimate $5,200-5,600
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Lot 599
KUSHANO-SASANIAN: temp. Shahpur III, 383-388, AV dinar (7.25g), Sind, Paruck-265, bust right, Sanskrit word to right / standard Sasanian style fire-altar & two armed attendants, choice Very Fine, RRR.
Struck by post-Kushano-Sasanian governors in Sind (now in southern Pakistan), circa 380s-390s. The denomination was probably derived from the late Kushan or early Kidara dinar, but still struck in fine gold.
Estimate $3,800-4,200
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Lot 923
BENGAL PRESIDENCY: pattern AR rupee, Muhammadabad Banares, AH1229 year 49, KM-Pn3, Pridmore-291, machine struck in 1815, lovely prooflike surfaces, nice original toning, a superb example of a very rare pattern, NGC graded Proof 65, RRR.
A PCGS Proof-63 example sold for $3000 in the Baldwin's Auction 54 sale. This specimen is much nicer!
Estimate $3,500-4,000
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Lot 608
GUJARAT: Nasir al-Din Mahmud I, 1458-1511, AV tanka (11.47g), Muhammadabad 'urf Champanir, AH902, G-G78, choice Extremely Fine, RRR.
Estimate $3,500-4,000
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Lot 601
EASTERN CHALUKYAS: Anonymous, 10th century, AV pagoda (3.77g), Mitch-191 type, cf. Chattopadhyaya 233-5, series of Kannada punchmarks around central punchmark depicting lion standing left, 36.5mm, uniface, traces of red encrustation, Extremely Fine.
This is the first we have seen with Kannada script punchmarks of this type and it appears unpublished and without record of sale in any other auction.
Estimate $3,500-4,000
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Lot 29
UMAYYAD OF SPAIN: 'Abd al-Rahman III, 912-961, AV dinar (3.97g), al-Andalus, AH327, A-348, couple tiny nicks by the edge, choice Extremely Fine, RR.
Estimate $3,000-3,500
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Lot 1021
MECCA: Anonymous, early 19th century, AE mahmudi (15.03g), Makka, AH1220, KM-2, A-S1160, inscriptions only on both sides, lovely strike, Very Fine, RR.
The Wahhabi Sharifs struck anonymous copper coins from 1219 to 1240, with the possible addition of a few coins dated earlier in the 1210s. They are rather heavy and resemble contemporary copper paisas of western India, whence it is conceivable that Muslim manufacturers from India came to Arabia to prepare these coins.
Estimate $3,000-3,500
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Lot 512
SAFAVID: Sulayman I, 1668-1694, AR 20 shahi (36.09g), Isfahan, AH1099, A-2664, KM-229, same obverse die as Rabino-17, light trace of probably mount near the edge, most noticeable on the obverse, lovely Very Fine.
These largesse coins were produced solely as award medals and were almost always mounted for decorative usage, as the recipient was probably required to wear them. Rabino's illustration is reduced from actual size, not indicated in his description.
Estimate $2,800-3,000
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Lot 954
CEYLON: AR 48 stivers (9.91g), 1803, KM-78, Pridmore-4, British Rule, local coinage, elephant facing right, struck February to June 1803, to a weight standard of 152.5 grains, superb strike, lovely toned Extremely Fine to About Uncirculated, RR, ex. R.J. Ford Collection (lot 109).
This issue is not recorded in KM, or by Atkins, but is listed by Thurston (1890, p.111). Somewhat better centred than the Pridmore specimen, which realised £130 in his sale in 1982 (illustrated and lot 544).
Estimate $2,400-2,600
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Lot 146
TURKEY: Mahmud I, 1730-1754, AR ½ kurush (11.97g), Gümüshane, AH1143, KM-207. NP-569, initial #12, slightly weak strike, especially on the reverse, About Very Fine, RRR.
Estimate $2,500-3,000
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Lot 149
TURKEY: Mahmud I, 1730-1754, AR kurush (26.49g), Gümüshane, AH1143, KM-212. NP-568, initial #10, lovely strike with virtually no weakness at all, the nicest I have seen, choice Very Fine, RR.
Gümüshane, "the silver camp", was a silver mining town now on the highway between Erzurum and Trabzon. It was only active as an Ottoman mint during the reign of Mahmud I. In 1965 I (Steve) was taking the bus from Erzurum to Trabzon, en route to the Iranian consulate. We stopped for lunch at Gümüshane, where I walked across the road to a tobacco shop for a pack of cigarettes (fortunately, I quit smoking in 1969). On the wall were two full kurush and one ½ kurush nailed to the wall, of which I purchased the half and one of the full kurush coins, each with a nail hole. They were very cheap, but in those days hardly anyone cared whether the mint name was Gümüshane or Kostantiniye. I doubt the pair, with or without holes, was worth more than $20 or $30 back then.
Estimate $2,500-3,000
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