Agha Mohammad Khan unified Iran under Qajar rule by force, capturing and blinding the last Zand ruler, Lotf Ali Khan, in 1794 — but coinage in his name began circulating from regional mints like Rasht well before his formal coronation. Rasht, a major commercial hub on the Caspian littoral with strong trade ties to Russia, was one of the earlier mints to produce Qajar-type fractional gold. Type C varieties from this mint are scarcer than Tehran or Tabriz output, reflecting both shorter production runs and the political volatility of consolidating a mint city still transitioning between dynasties.
Agha Mohammad Khan unified Iran under Qajar rule by force, capturing and blinding the last Zand ruler, Lotf Ali Khan, in 1794 — but coinage in his name began circulating from regional mints like Rasht well before his formal coronation. Rasht, a major commercial hub on the Caspian littoral with strong trade ties to Russia, was one of the earlier mints to produce Qajar-type fractional gold. Type C varieties from this mint are scarcer than Tehran or Tabriz output, reflecting both shorter production runs and the political volatility of consolidating a mint city still transitioning between dynasties.