2 Shahi - Tahmasp Safavid Esfāhān mint

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.