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1 Dugani - Ghiyas-ud-din Balban
| Issuer | Delhi Sultanate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1266-1287 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3.6 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse displays the Arabic word 'Balban' prominently in the central field within a plain linear inner circle, identifying the issuing sultan. The surrounding marginal legend is inscribed in Nagari script, reading 'Sri Sultan Gayasadin', rendering the sultan's name and title in the vernacular script for the benefit of the local population. The bilingual layout — Arabic in the centre and Nagari in the margin — is a characteristic feature of certain Delhi Sultanate issues reflecting administrative bilingualism. The strike is irregular and the flan shows typical hammered texture. |
| Reverse script | Arabic/Nagari |
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| Additional information |
Balban's coinage represents a deliberate assertion of authority following decades of weakened sultanate control under the Slave Dynasty's later rulers. Having served as a powerful regent before seizing the throne outright in 1266, he used administrative and ceremonial reforms — including strict court protocol borrowed from Persian imperial tradition — to project an image of absolute sovereignty. His billon issues, struck in the lowest denomination, were the coins most ordinary people actually handled.
The dugani circulated at a period when Delhi's monetary system was still finding its footing between older regional traditions and the centralizing ambitions of the sultanate.