5000 Dinar - Ahmad Qajar mule

A mule — meaning a coin struck from dies not intended to be paired — this piece combines dies from different denominations or issues, almost certainly the result of a die mix-up at the Tehran mint during a period of considerable administrative disorder. Ahmad Shah was installed in 1909 at age eleven following his father Mohammad Ali Shah's forced abdication under Russian and British pressure, and the mint operated with chronic inconsistency throughout his reign. Mules from this period are poorly documented, with most surviving examples reaching Western collections through the bazaar trade rather than any systematic numismatic record.