A billion Tanka : Muhammad bin Tughluq

[Sulla80]

 

This coin is an interesting Tanka of Mohammad bin Tughluq - a ruler who was described this way by a contemporary :

"Sultan Muhammad planned in his own breast three or four projects by which the whole of the habitable world was to be brought under the rule of his servants, but he never talked over these projects with any of his councilors and friends. Whatever he conceived he considered to be good, but in promulgating and enforcing his schemes he lost his hold upon the territories possessed, disgusted his people, and emptied his treasury."
- Ziauddin Barani, "Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi"

More on this coin and other coins from the Tughluq dynasty can be found in my notes:

https://www.sullacoins.com/post/stupor-mundi-wonder-of-the-world

One of his policy failures was issuing a token currency (bronze) that was backed by precious metal in the treasury.  An innovative approach that had some initial success, before it failed and counterfeiting undermined trust in the currency which led to hyperinflation.

Delhi Sultanate, Tughluq Dynasty, Muhammad bin Tughluq (AH 725-752 / 1325-1351 AD), Billon Tanka, AH 729, 9.2g

Obv: Arabic legend "darab fi zaman al Abd-al-Raji Rahmatullah Muhammad bin"

ضرب / في زمن العبد / الراجي رحمة / الله محمد / بن

Rev: Arabic legend "al-sultan-al-Saeed al-shaheed Tughlaq Shah" & Hijri year in words

السلطان / السعيد الشهيد / تغلق شاه سنة تسع / وعشرون وسبعمائة

at 9.2 grams it is lighter than this 11g gold coin (not my coin).

I am not sure if this is counterfeit or official currency ... I am hoping that some experts in this forum might add to the explanation of this coin.

Answered: thanks to @DLTcoins: official currency,

Post coin from the Tughluq dynasty or anything else that you might find relevant or entertaining.

Edited July 8 by Sulla80

[DLTcoins]

Looks like a perfectly normal billon tanka, proper weight. Goron & Goenka D370. Tankas were issued in gold, silver and billion. The billon may have replaced silver but gold and silver/billon seem to have been issued concurrently. Their relative value is not known and may have fluctuated over time.

Edited July 7 by DLTcoins

[Sulla80]

19 minutes ago, DLTcoins said:

Looks like a perfectly normal billon tanka, proper weight. Goron & Goenka D370. Tankas were issued in gold, silver and billion. The billon may have replaced silver but gold and silver/billon seem to have been issued concurrently. Their relative value is not known and may have fluctuated over time.

Thanks @DLTcoins 

[Sulla80]

Delhi Sultanate, Muhammad III bin Tughluq, Copper Tanka (9.03g, 22.7mm), date AH 730-732 (1329-1332 CE) mint name Tughluqpur 'urf  Tirhut in margin.

Although I have a translation - I am not confident that it is right.

Rev (left):  He who obeys the sovereign truly, he obeys the merciful one;

من اطاع / السلطان / فقد اطاع / الرحمن

in the margin the mint name & date

Obv (right): Struck as a current tanka in the time of the servant, hopeful of Divine Mercy, Muhammad Tughlaq

Edited July 26 by Sulla80

[Sulla80]

Here are two more coins from my "forced token currency" collection...this one with a curious inscription.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325-1351 AD) 1/2 Tanka (Forced currency),no mint, (issued in year) 730.

Obverse: الطاعة الله والطاعة الرسول والولي

Obey Allah and obey the prophet and those in authority among you Muhammad

from Quranic verse An-Nisa 59: 

Reverse: الولا السلطان العاقل الناس بعزم، تغلق

Which Goron and Goenka translate as  If there were no Sultan verily the people would devour
What does that mean? feast? devour one another? would be eaten?

This coin appears to vary a little in the script on the obverse from what is in G&G

Edited August 9 by Sulla80