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1 Falus - Nasir al-din Mahmud Shah III
| Issuer | Sultanate of Gujarat |
|---|---|
| Year | 1542-1549 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Falus (1⁄64) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Reverse field bears a multi-line Arabic legend in a similarly bold, informal hammered script, typical of Gujarati Sultanate copper coinage of the mid-sixteenth century. The inscription includes the mint name and AH regnal date, though precise details are partially obscured by striking irregularities and flan limitations. The design is purely epigraphic with no decorative border or additional ornamental elements. Die wear and metal flow are evident across the field, consistent with high-volume circulation coinage of the period. The overall strike is characteristic of provincial hammered copper issues. |
| Reverse script | Arabic |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Mahmud Shah III inherited the Gujarat Sultanate as a minor in 1537, with real power held by competing factions of nobles — most consequentially, Imad ul-Mulk, whose dominance shaped the early years of this coinage. The reign coincided with aggressive Portuguese pressure along the Gujarati coast and an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to leverage Ottoman naval support against Lisbon's stranglehold on the Arabian Sea trade routes.
The falus as a denomination served the lowest tier of daily market transactions, and copper issues from this period circulated hard in the bazaars of Ahmedabad and Cambay. Survivors with any remaining surface detail are rarer than the KM listing implies.