Catalog
Falus - Anonymous Isfahan mint
| Issuer | Isfahan, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Reverse displays a three-line Arabic inscription in bold nasta'liq script, boldly struck in high relief across the entire field of the irregular rectangular flan. The legend reads 'فلوس ضرب اصفهان', identifying the denomination as falus and the mint as Isfahan. The script is fluid and characteristic of Safavid provincial copper coinage, with letters intertwining across the available field. The flan is uneven and the strike is typical of anonymous municipal copper issues produced at Isfahan prior to the Afghan conquest of 1722. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | فلوس ضرب اصفهان |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Anonymous copper falus from Isfahan circulated in a monetary environment where the Safavid central authority had largely withdrawn from small-denomination coinage, leaving municipal and regional mints to fill the gap on an ad hoc basis. Attribution is complicated by the absence of a ruler's name — a deliberate feature of many such issues, not an oversight — which makes precise dating dependent almost entirely on epigraphy and stylistic comparison with dated contemporaries.
Isfahan's mint was among the most active in the Safavid realm, particularly under Shah Abbas I, who made the city his capital in 1598.