Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3021 6-7 January 2013
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Islamic Dynasties
Mughal, Jahangir, AH 1015-1037 / AD 1605-1628, gold portrait mohur (10.88g, 21.5mm). Without mint name, AH 1020 year 6 (AD 1611). Draped bust of Jahangir left, drinking wine from goblet / lion before huge sun rising in the background. Certainly among best-struck and finest known examples of this great rarity. Choice Extremely Fine. Jahangir (AD 1605-1627), the fourth Mughal emperor and the son of Akbar Shah, was personally interested in the splendor of his coinage and is said to have been an avid numismatist himself. His fascination with portraiture in all forms is well documented. Among his most famous and artistically magnificent coins are his portrait pieces (as this example) and his "Zodiac Mohurs" (see succeeding lot). This coin type has been presented as evidence that Jahangir converted to Christianity, since portraiture is strictly forbidden in the Islamic artistic canon, but there is insufficient evidence to corroborate that suggestion. Indeed it is far more likely that Jahangir, like his father, remained a Sunni Muslim, but also a free-thinker who allowed free debate among men of all faiths within his realm. Ex Baldwin's Auction 54 (6 May 2008), lot 1064.
Estimate: 60000-80000 USD
Mughal, Jahangir, AH 1015-1037 / AD 1605-1628, gold portrait mohur (10.88g, 21.5mm). Without mint name, AH 1020 year 6 (AD 1611). Draped bust of Jahangir left, drinking wine from goblet / lion before huge sun rising in the background. Certainly among best-struck and finest known examples of this great rarity. Choice Extremely Fine. Jahangir (AD 1605-1627), the fourth Mughal emperor and the son of Akbar Shah, was personally interested in the splendor of his coinage and is said to have been an avid numismatist himself. His fascination with portraiture in all forms is well documented. Among his most famous and artistically magnificent coins are his portrait pieces (as this example) and his "Zodiac Mohurs" (see succeeding lot). This coin type has been presented as evidence that Jahangir converted to Christianity, since portraiture is strictly forbidden in the Islamic artistic canon, but there is insufficient evidence to corroborate that suggestion. Indeed it is far more likely that Jahangir, like his father, remained a Sunni Muslim, but also a free-thinker who allowed free debate among men of all faiths within his realm. Ex Baldwin's Auction 54 (6 May 2008), lot 1064.
Estimate: 60000-80000 USD