Burji Mamluk, al-Ashraf Barsbay, AH 825-841/ CE 1422-1438, Gold Ashrafi (3.37g). Al-Qahira (Cairo) mint, AH [8]34. Balog 706; Album 998. Legends in four rows divided by horizontal cables. In NGC holder graded AU50 (erroneous date "832" on label). Estimated Value $250
NGC Certification 4930815-054.
The gold ashrafi was introduced in AH 829. Named after Barsbay's laqab al-Ashraf, the new denomination was struck to the weight and fineness of the contemporary Venetian ducat (about 3.42g). Unlike the failed reforms of his predecessors al-Nasir Faraj and al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh, Barsbay's reform was a success, maintained through the end of the Mamluk state and continued by the Ottomans into the 19th century.