RARE SHAH
JEHAN COIN
It’s as
large as a
quarter
plate, made
of solid gold,
it has no
siblings but boasts
a lineage like none
other. This solo
master piece, a
1.1 Kg gold coin minted
by Emperor Shah
Jehan, is now the property
of the University
of Mumbai.
Ths coin
and 25,000 other
heritage coins, currency
notes , seals
and medals from
countries all over
the world constitute
Mumbai stock broker
Dinesh Mody,s priceless
private collection which
he will soon
donate to the
university for use in its
new maste’rs degree
in numismatics and
archaeology.
The Shah
Jehan coin dates
back to the
era between 1628 and
1658, when he
ran the Empire
after Jehangir. It
was auctioned in
London in the
1980’s, when Mody
bought it for
a small fortune.
But between the 17th and 20th centuries
, the coin
traveled widely, and
there by hangs
a fascinating tale.
The story
goes that the
massive coin was
issued to placate
the Khalifa, the
head of the
Muslim sect. Islamic
kings were forbidden
from issuing coins
with Kalima or
images of humans
or other living
beings. However, Akbar,
Jahangir and Shah
Jahan frequently issued
coins engraved with
birds, animals and
their own visages.
When the Khalifa,
who migrated from
Baghdad to Morocco,
learnt of this
practice, he sent
out a stern
warning to Shah Jahan
that if he
continued in this vainglorios
manner, he would
be excommunicated.
Dilip Rajgor,
a scholar and
the author of
several books on
numismatics, says that
the missive had
its desired effect on
the emperor.
Faced with
an ultimatum by the Khalifa,
the Emperor did
not eat for a
day. Then one
of his advisors
came up with a
solution, which was
to mint a
large coin from pure gold and
call it “Shaneshah”. The coin was
sent to the
Khalifa with a
message that read,
“The Shahenshah is
at your feet
asking for forgiveness”.
On it was inscribed
in Persian. “There
is only one
god , and he is
Allah, and Mohammed
is his Prophet”.
Whether it
was tombs or
coins, Shah Jehan
evidently liked to
do things in
style. The Khalifa’s
daughter, who married
the prince of
Bhawalpur and the
coin was sent
with her as a dowry.
Bhawalpur, in
Pakistan, was one of
the richest states
in India. After
independence, the daughter
of the Bhawalpur
prince carried a
treasure trove from
the princely state
to London.
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