Aurangzeb seized the Mughal throne in 1658 after imprisoning his father Shah Jahan and executing his brothers — coinage issued in his name from Surat in the early regnal years carries the weight of that usurpation. Surat was then the empire's premier port, handling the bulk of trade with the Persian Gulf, East Africa, and the English and Dutch factories established on its waterfront, which made its mint output functionally international currency.
The Surat mint designation within KM#300.85 covers a long span of regnal years, and attribution to specific years within that range depends on the regnal year struck on the flan itself.
Aurangzeb seized the Mughal throne in 1658 after imprisoning his father Shah Jahan and executing his brothers — coinage issued in his name from Surat in the early regnal years carries the weight of that usurpation. Surat was then the empire's premier port, handling the bulk of trade with the Persian Gulf, East Africa, and the English and Dutch factories established on its waterfront, which made its mint output functionally international currency.
The Surat mint designation within KM#300.85 covers a long span of regnal years, and attribution to specific years within that range depends on the regnal year struck on the flan itself.