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1 Paika - Ghiyath-ud-din Balban
| Issuer | Delhi Sultanate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1266-1287 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 3 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field bearing a two-line Arabic legend in raised relief reading 'Ghiyas al-Dunya wa al-Din' (Succour of the World and the Faith), the laqab (honorific title) of Sultan Balban. The bold Naskh-style script fills the flan, characteristic of mid-thirteenth-century Delhi Sultanate hammered copper issues. The irregular flan shows slight weakness at the edges, consistent with hand-struck coinage of the period. A partial raised rim frames the legend. The reverse exhibits a similar green cuprite patina to the obverse. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Ghiyath-ud-din Balban ruled the Delhi Sultanate under a policy of deliberate terror — he systematically crushed the Forty, the group of Turkish nobles who had dominated the sultanate since Iltutmish, and reorganized the court along strict Persian ceremonial lines. His copper issues reflect this administrative overhaul; the paika denomination functioned at the lowest stratum of a currency hierarchy Balban worked to stabilize after decades of factional disorder had degraded both political authority and monetary confidence.