Catalog
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| Issuer | Safavid Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1542 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Shahi (1501-1798) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله علي ولي الله |
| Reverse description | Central field bearing the royal and mint legend in three lines of nasta'liq script, reading the name of Shah Tahmasp I, the mint city of Isfahan (Zarb Isfahan), and the AH regnal year 948. The inscription is arranged within an unbordered field on the irregular hammered flan, with the date appearing prominently in Arabic-Indic numerals at the base of the legend, consistent with Safavid provincial mint practice of the period. |
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| Additional information |
Tahmasp I moved the Safavid capital from Tabriz to Qazvin in 1555, partly under pressure from repeated Ottoman incursions — Suleiman the Magnificent had sacked Tabriz three times by mid-century. The Esfahan mint was nevertheless active throughout his reign, producing a substantial portion of the empire's silver coinage even before the city became the imperial capital under Abbas I decades later. The 2 Shahi denomination served as the workhorse of Safavid commercial exchange, circulating across trade routes connecting the Persian Gulf ports to Central Asia.