Catalog
Abbasi / 4 Shahi Counterstamped
| Issuer | Dutch East India Company (VOC) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1655 |
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| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
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| Obverse description | Hammered silver flan bearing the Arabic royal legend of Shah Abbas II of Safavid Persia in flowing Nasta'liq script, filling the entire field across multiple lines. The inscription records the mint name (Tabriz) and the regnal year 1065 AH. Prominently applied at center is a small circular VOC counterstamp — the monogram of the Dutch East India Company — punched into the coin's surface to validate it for use in VOC-controlled trade. The flan is irregular and slightly clipped, typical of hammered Safavid abbasi coinage. The coin exhibits natural wear and surface patina consistent with circulation use. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse of this hammered silver abbasi displays a dense, multi-line Arabic religious legend in Nasta'liq script covering the entire field, invoking the Shahada and naming the Twelve Imams of Twelver Shia Islam. The inscription begins with the declaration of faith — 'There is no god but God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God, Ali is the Wali of God' — followed by the names of the remaining eleven Imams. The flan is irregular with ragged edges and a chip at the rim, consistent with hammered coinage of the Safavid period. Surface wear is evident throughout, with the legend remaining largely legible despite heavy circulation. |
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| Additional information |
The VOC counterstamped local Persian and Georgian silver in the mid-17th century not out of numismatic habit but commercial necessity — Dutch traders operating along the Persian Gulf and Malabar Coast needed coinage acceptable to local merchants, and striking entirely new coin was neither fast nor cheap. The host coin here, the abbasi, was the workhorse silver of Safavid Iran; the VOC monogram punch simply co-opted its existing credibility rather than replacing it.
KM#49 is one of several VOC counterstamp types from this period, distinguished by host coin type and punch placement. Authentication hinges on the sharpness of the monogram and the legitimacy of the underlying flan.