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Mughals: Jahangir, gold zodiacal mohur, Agra mint, 'Taurus' sign, AH 1028/RY 14, KM 180.4, 10.71g.

Currency:INR Category:Coins & Paper Money / Indian Coins - Mughal Empire Start Price:NA Estimated At:2,500,000.00 - 3,500,000.00 INR
Mughals: Jahangir, gold zodiacal mohur, Agra mint, 'Taurus' sign, AH 1028/RY 14, KM 180.4, 10.71g.
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Jahangir (1605-1627 AD), gold zodiacal mohur, Agra mint, 'Taurus' sign, AH 1028/RY 14, KM 180.4, 10.71g. Obv: Bull standing facing left against a sun-burst backdrop. Rev: Farsi couplet Zar Zeenat Dad Sikka-i Agrah/az Jahangir Shah Akbar Shah (“the stamp of Agra gave beauty to gold, by king Jahangir (the son of) king Akbar”).

Very fine, Exceedingly rare.

The emperor Jahangir struck a remarkable series of figural type rupees and mohurs, unprecedented for a Muslim ruler. In his autobiography, he mentions he got an idea that instead of inscribing the name of the month of issue on his coins - a feature introduced by his father, the emperor Akbar - he would show the sun sign for each month. Thus, a series of zodiacal types was struck, each sign corresponding to the month of issue. The obverse dies were reused from year to year, but new dated reverses were produced for each subsequent issue. The 'Zeenat Dad' couplet, seen on the reverse of this coin, was used only for the first year of issue the combination AH1028/RY14. The coins were struck from mints wherever the Emperor was in residence and are known for the mints of Agra, Ahmadabad, Ajmer, Fathpur, Kashmir and Lahore. They were considered to be heretical by Jahangir's successor Shahjahan and recalled from circulation - however their immense beauty and novel conceptual designs made them collector's items even during their circulatory life. They are perhaps the most sought-after Mughal coins and have remained so for nearly four centuries.