1/4 Mithqal - Tahmasp I Safavi Sabzawar - Fourth Gold Standard

Tahmasp I's reign saw the Safavid monetary system reorganized around the mithqal as a weight standard, with fractional gold denominations struck at provincial mints to service local trade networks rather than imperial ceremonial functions. Sabzavar — a city in Khorasan — operated as a regional mint during periods when Khorasan was contested between Safavid and Uzbek forces, making its output intermittent and geographically significant.

Album's "Fourth Gold Standard" designation places this piece within a specific phase of Tahmasp's long reign, distinguished from earlier coinage by weight and fineness adjustments made following monetary instability in the mid-sixteenth century.