Baldwin & Sons
Auction 98 3 May 2016
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WORLD COINS, India, Sultanates, Sultans of Madura, Jalal al-Din Ahsan Shah (AH 734-740 / 133/4-1339 AD), Gold Tanka, Hadrat Madura, AH 735, 11.02g (Bhandare JONS 186, p.26, Winter 2006). Extremely fine and very rare.
The obverse title is afzal-al yasin khalifath rabb al-'alamein jalal al-dunya wa al-din, which bestows on Ahsan the lofty position of "lord of both worlds", a title "usually reserved for Allah, the supreme God" (Bhandare JONS 186). The reverse legend identifies Ahsan as abu al-dhu 'afa wa al-masakin "father of the weak and the destitute". The rendition of the mint as Hadrat (venerable) Madura, previously a Tamil temple city, gives an intriguing perspective on the changing social and religious status of the area during this short period of independence before the rising Vijayanagar Kingdom overwhelmed it.
Estimate: £7000-9000
The obverse title is afzal-al yasin khalifath rabb al-'alamein jalal al-dunya wa al-din, which bestows on Ahsan the lofty position of "lord of both worlds", a title "usually reserved for Allah, the supreme God" (Bhandare JONS 186). The reverse legend identifies Ahsan as abu al-dhu 'afa wa al-masakin "father of the weak and the destitute". The rendition of the mint as Hadrat (venerable) Madura, previously a Tamil temple city, gives an intriguing perspective on the changing social and religious status of the area during this short period of independence before the rising Vijayanagar Kingdom overwhelmed it.
Estimate: £7000-9000