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1/2 Paisa - Islam Shah Jalal al-Din AH 952-960 / AD 1545-1552
| Issuer | Sur Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1545-1552 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 5.39 mm |
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| Obverse description | Heavily worn hammered copper flan bearing a bold Arabic legend distributed across the field in multiple lines, executed in the characteristic angular Naskh script of the Sur dynasty. The inscription, referencing the ruler Islam Shah Jalal al-Din, occupies the majority of the die area with large, somewhat crude letterforms typical of mid-sixteenth century Suri copper coinage. The flan is notably thick and irregular, with uneven edges consistent with hand-hammered production. Surface patination is dark reddish-brown with areas of green cuprite encrustation. The overall strike is moderately well-centered but shows weakness in peripheral areas. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Islam Shah succeeded his father Sher Shah Sur in 1545 and spent much of his reign consolidating the administrative and fiscal machinery his father had built, including the copper coinage infrastructure that supported small-denomination transactions across the subcontinent. The Sur sultans were unusually systematic about their monetary organization — Sher Shah's currency reforms had established a tripartite system of gold, silver, and copper that the Mughal emperors would later inherit almost intact.
DR#1740 is a scarce attribution; the fractional copper issues of Sur-period rulers are frequently misidentified or left unattributed in older collections.