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1 Tanka - Sikandar Shah Delhi Sultan
| Issuer | Delhi Sultanate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1508-1514 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 9.0 g |
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| Obverse description | Hammered billon tanka bearing a multi-line Arabic inscription in the square Tughra-style script characteristic of late Delhi Sultanate coinage, disposed across the field in two horizontal registers separated by a linear dividing line. The bold, angular lettering fills the flan completely, with the legend conveying the royal titulature and profession of faith typical of Sikandar Shah's issues. The irregular flan edges and somewhat uneven strike are consistent with hand-hammered production at the Hadrat Dehli mint. The overall design is abstract and epigraphic, with no figurative elements. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Sikandar Shah Lodi ruled at a moment when the Delhi Sultanate was already contracting under pressure from Afghan tribal factionalism and the rising power of regional sultanates. His tanka issues in billon reflect a debased monetary standard that had been declining since the late Tughlaq period — the silver content in circulation coinage had eroded steadily across successive reigns, and Lodi-era pieces represent the practical floor of that debasement. Sikandar died in 1517, leaving Ibrahim Lodi to face Babur at Panipat nine years later, effectively ending the sultanate entirely.