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1 Tanka - Sher Shah Suri
| Issuer | Sur Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1538-1545 |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Central square: لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله Margins: ابو بكر عمر عثمان علي ٩٤٨ |
| Reverse description | The reverse displays a multi-line Arabic and Persian inscription within a square central field, proclaiming the ruler's titles and royal benediction. The legend reads 'Sher Shah Sultan / Khallad Allah mulkahu / Al-Sultan al-Adil' (Sher Shah Sultan / May God perpetuate his reign / The Just Sultan), asserting both temporal authority and the epithet of just rulership. Below or within the field, a Devanagari inscription reads 'Ser Shah' (सेर साह), transliterating the ruler's name for the benefit of non-Persian-literate subjects, reflecting Sher Shah's pragmatic bilingual administrative policy. The calligraphy is rendered in a fluid naskh hand with deeply cut strokes, and the coin's irregular flan is typical of hand-struck production. The reverse field is entirely epigraphic, with no mint name visible on this type. |
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| Additional information |
Sher Shah Suri's silver tanka is the monetary foundation of one of the most consequential administrative reforms in South Asian history. Having defeated Humayun at the Battle of Chausa in 1539 and driven the Mughals out of Hindustan entirely, Sher Shah overhauled the existing coinage system within his first years of rule — standardizing the rupee's weight and fineness in a way that the Mughal emperors who eventually succeeded him simply adopted wholesale. The tanka issued under his authority predates that rupee standardization and belongs to the transitional phase of his monetary reorganization.
His reign lasted only five years before his death from an accidental gunpowder explosion at the siege of Kalinjar in 1545.