1/2 Mithqal - Tahmasb I Safavi Sabzawar mint

Tahmasb I ruled for over fifty years — the longest reign of any Safavid shah — yet his gold coinage remains underrepresented in Western collections largely because European trade networks of the mid-sixteenth century drew heavily on Ottoman and Mughal issues instead. Sabzavar, a secondary mint in Khorasan, struck intermittently and in limited volume, making provincial gold from this reign genuinely scarce rather than artificially so.

By 1551, Tahmasb had already survived two Ottoman invasions and was conducting a strategic withdrawal policy — scorched earth, abandoned cities — that severely disrupted the eastern provincial economy Sabzavar served.