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1 Paisa - Sher Shah Suri Alwar
| Issuer | Sur Empire (Indian Sultanates) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1538-1545 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Reverse description | Central field displays a multi-line Arabic religious inscription arranged horizontally across the flan, referencing the amir as protector of the faith and divine judge. The legend is rendered in Naskh script, deeply struck but partially worn, occupying the full face of the coin with minimal border ornament. The irregular, thick flan and coarse die work are characteristic of provincial Sur Empire hammered copper issues. The reverse field shows slight die shift and metal flow typical of hand-struck copper paisa of this era. |
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| Additional information |
Sher Shah Suri's monetary reform of the 1540s was among the most consequential in pre-Mughal India — he standardized the copper dam, silver rupiya, and gold mohur into a coherent tri-metallic system that the Mughals would essentially inherit and perpetuate for the next two centuries. The Alwar attribution places this piece within the regional mint network he established to sustain coinage across a rapidly consolidated empire that, at its peak, stretched from Bengal to the Indus.
His reign lasted only five years; he died in 1545 from an accidental gunpowder explosion at the siege of Kalinjar.