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1/2 Mithqal - Tahmasp I Herat
| Issuer | Safavid Dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1570 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Mithqal (24) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The entire field is occupied by a multi-line Arabic legend in bold thuluth script, densely arranged in an interlocking cartouche-like composition characteristic of Safavid hammered coinage. The inscription proclaims the royal title and devotional epithet of Shah Tahmasp I as servant of Ali ibn Abi Talib, followed by the mint name Herat and the AH date 978. The raised lettering fills the flan to its irregular edges, with no border or decorative devices, consistent with the austere epigraphy of mid-sixteenth-century Safavid gold issues. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | غلام علی بن ابیطالب علیه السّلم شاه طهماسب ضرب هراة ۹۷۸ (Translation: The servant of Ali, son of Abu Talib, peace be upon him Shah Tahmasp Minted in Herat, 978) |
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| Additional information |
Tahmasp I ruled for over half a century — the longest reign of any Safavid shah — yet gold coinage from his later years, particularly from Herat, remains scarce relative to issues from the imperial mints at Tabriz and Qazvin. Herat sat at the eastern edge of Safavid control, repeatedly contested with the Uzbeks, and its mint output was intermittent at best. By 1570, Tahmasp was in his final years, increasingly withdrawn and reportedly obsessed with religious purity to the point of banning music and wine at court.
Album's N prefix designation flags this type as insufficiently documented for a full number assignment — meaning die studies and provenance records for this specific fraction remain incomplete.