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Mughals : Azam Shah

Currency:CAD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:350,000.00 CAD Estimated At:350,000.00 - 400,000.00 CAD
Mughals : Azam Shah
Azam Shah, Silver Rupee, 11.54g, Dar al Jihad Hyderabad Mint, AH 1119/ RY Ahad, Obv: Couplet of “Azam Shah – Sikka zad dar Jahan ba-Daulat wa Jah / Badshah Mumalik ‘Azam Shah 1119”, Rev: Formulaic legend “(Zarb Dar al-Jihad) Haidarabad Manoos Iqbal Julus (sanah) Ahad” (Unlisted in major sources). Cleaned, extremely fine, exceedingly rare.
‘Azam Shah declared himself as the emperor after the death of Aurangzeb on 14 March 1707 at Ahmadnagar. He then swiftly moved towards the North, to meet his challenger Mu’azzam (Shah Alam I). The two met at the battle of Jajau on 8 June 1707 and ‘Azam Shah was defeated and killed by Mu’azzam. He proclaimed himself the emperor as Shah Alam Bahadur, but was once more challenged by Kam Bakhsh, another of his brothers. His challenge was quashed in a battle outside Hyderabad on 13 January 1708 and Kam Bakhsh died of his wounds the very next day.
Die and type study suggests that the numismatic chronology of Hyderabad mint goes from Aurangzeb to Shah Alam Bahadur, then to ‘Azam Shah, then Kam Bakhsh and finally Shah Alam in whose name the coinage continues till his death in 1712. Issues of ‘Azam Shah are exceedingly rare, and must have been struck a little before the battle of Jajau, when his claim to the throne seemed strong and permanent. The coins are known in two types, one a direct continuation of Shah Alam issues preceding them, and the other type is the one offered here. Usually the epithet for ‘Azam Shah’s regnal year on his coins is ‘Ashraf’ (= noble) which replaces the more familiar ‘Maimanat’. But on this variety, the epithet is ‘Iqbal’ (= successful, prosperous). Only one other rupee of this type is known to the cataloguer and it is in the collection of the Bode Museum at Berlin. A unique Mohur, which is die-identical to this rupee, is also known and was offered at a CNG sale some years ago.