1/2 Mithqal - Mohammad Khudabanda Mashhad, Type B

Mohammad Khudabanda (r. 1578–1587) was among the weakest rulers of the Safavid line — nearly blind, politically outmaneuvered by his queen and later by his own son Abbas, and presiding over a dynasty losing ground to both the Ottomans in the west and the Uzbeks in the east. That gold continued to be struck at Mashhad during his reign speaks more to institutional momentum than to royal authority.

The Type B designation within this series reflects a die variation documented in the Islamic Coin catalog, distinct from the earlier Type A issues of the same reign. Mashhad, as a major Shia pilgrimage center, maintained an active mint throughout this period.