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Falus - Anonymous Lion right
| Issuer | City of Balkh (Afghan Cities) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1400-1700 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Densely interlaced Arabic inscription filling the entire field in a highly stylized, geometric manner characteristic of late medieval Central Asian copper coinage. The legends, reading 'Balkh' (بلخ) above and 'Falus' (فالس) below, are rendered in an angular, almost Kufic-influenced script whose strokes interlock to form a complex decorative pattern. The field is bounded by a plain inner circle, with the coin's irregular flan and flat relief typical of anonymous hammered issues from the Balkh mint. Traces of green cuprite patina are visible at the periphery, consistent with prolonged burial or circulation. |
|---|---|
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| Mint | Balkh Mint |
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| Additional information |
Balkh, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia, sat at the intersection of trade routes connecting Persia, India, and the Eurasian steppe. Anonymous copper issues of this type circulated through a city that changed hands repeatedly — Timurid, Uzbek, and Safavid power all passed through Balkh across the span this coinage covers. The attribution to the city rather than any named ruler reflects that instability directly: authority was too fractured or too transient to put a name on the small change.
Album's placement at 3197 groups these among the least-documented provincial coppers of the post-Mongol Islamic world. The three-century date range is an honest acknowledgment of how difficult these are to pin down without mint dates.