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1 Rupee - Shuja' al-Mulk, 5th Reign Ahmadshahi
| Issuer | Afghanistan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1839-1842 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Rupee |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field dominated by a multi-line Persian inscription in fluid nastaliq script bearing the name and title of the ruler Sultan Shuja' al-Mulk Shah. The legend is arranged in sweeping calligraphic strokes characteristic of Durrani-era hammered coinage, with a crescent motif visible in the upper portion of the field. The coin exhibits the slightly irregular flan and bold relief typical of hand-struck Afghan rupees of this period. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | 1255 (1839) - - 1256 (1840) - - 1257 (1841) - - 1258 (1842) - - |
| Additional information |
Shuja' al-Mulk's fifth and final reign was not won by popular support — it was installed at bayonet point by the British during the First Anglo-Afghan War, making this rupee effectively a coin of occupation. Shah Shuja ruled as a British client from Kabul while Company forces garrisoned the city, a arrangement Afghans broadly rejected.
He was assassinated in April 1842, shortly after the catastrophic British retreat from Kabul in which an entire army column was destroyed. Coins from this reign circulated in genuinely volatile conditions, and the political illegitimacy of the issuer meant they were not universally accepted across Afghan territories.