1/2 Mithqal - Tahmasp I Safavi Sultaniya, First Gold Standard

Tahmasp I's monetary reform — launched in the 930s AH following his father Ismail I's largely ad hoc coinage system — established the mithqal as the foundational weight unit for Safavid gold, anchoring a standard that would persist, with modifications, across successive shahs. The Sultaniya mint, one of the oldest and most prestigious in northwestern Iran, was among the first brought into conformity under this reformed system.

Album 2591 encompasses a tight chronological window. Survivors attributable to Sultaniya are genuinely scarce compared to the Tabriz and Qazvin output of the same reign.