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1/2 Tanka - Muhammad Bin Tughluq
| Issuer | Delhi Sultanate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1330 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Reverse description | Irregular hammered flan with a multi-line Arabic legend in Naskh script filling the entire field, arranged in three or four horizontal registers. The inscription bears a maxim affirming the necessity of the sultan's authority for the preservation of social order. The lettering is deeply struck with characteristic Tughluq-era calligraphic style, and the overall design is purely epigraphic with no ornamental borders or figurative elements. |
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| Additional information |
Muhammad bin Tughluq's copper token currency of 1329–30 was one of the most ambitious — and catastrophic — monetary experiments in medieval Indian history. Facing a treasury strained by military campaigns and famine relief, the Sultan ordered that copper tokens circulate at the face value of silver tankas. The state refused to back the scheme with adequate controls against forgery, and counterfeit coins flooded the market almost immediately. Merchants and tradesmen melted silver, struck their own tokens, and paid their taxes in copper. The experiment collapsed within a few years and the Sultan was forced to redeem the tokens for silver at enormous loss to the crown.