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Ashrafi - Jamal al-Din Yusuf al-Qahira
| Issuer | Mamluk Sultanate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1438 |
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| Value | 1 Dinar |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field occupied by three lines of bold Arabic inscription in the Mamluk thuluth script, reading the royal titulature of Sultan al-Ashraf Barsbay. The legend in the central area reads 'al-Sultan al-Malik / al-Ashraf Abu al-Nasr / Barsbay' arranged horizontally across the flan. A circular marginal legend surrounds the central field, recording the mint name and date of issue: struck at Cairo in the year 841 AH. The hammered flan is slightly irregular in shape, characteristic of Mamluk gold coinage of the period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | السلطان الملك الاشرف ابو النصر برسباي [Margin]: ضرب بالقاهرة سنة احدى واربعين وثمانمائة |
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| Additional information |
Jamal al-Din Yusuf held the position of ustādār — effectively the sultan's household chancellor — under the Burji Mamluk sultans, and his authority to strike coins in Cairo was a direct expression of that administrative power rather than any royal title. The ashrafi as a denomination had been introduced by Barsbay in 1425 specifically to compete with the Venetian ducat in Levantine trade, and by 1438 it was firmly embedded in eastern Mediterranean commerce.
The attribution to A#1004 places this within a tightly catalogued group where die alignment and mint epithet spelling variants continue to generate disagreement among specialists.