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DELHI: LOT 180 coins

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Indian Coins - Sultanates Start Price:400.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 700.00 USD
DELHI: LOT 180 coins
SOLD
500.00USD+ buyer's premium (100.00)
This item SOLD at 2025 Feb 24 @ 11:59UTC-08:00 : PST/AKDT
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DELHI: LOT 180 coins, large group of Delhi Sultante, Muhammad bin Tughluq, 1325-1351, AE 'forced tanka' coins, mostly with green patina, an attractive group of this early fiat coinage, average quality examples, retail value $2700, lot of 180 coins. In 1330, after his failed expedition to Deogiri, Muhammad bin Tughluq issued a token currency of brass and copper and were minted whose value was equal to that of gold and silver coins. The Sultan's treasury had been exhausted by his action of giving rewards and gifts in gold. In the rural areas, officials like the muqaddams paid the revenue in brass and copper coins and also used the same coins to purchase arms and horses. As a result, the value of coins decreased, and, in the words of Satish Chandra, the coins became "as worthless as stones". This also disrupted trade and commerce. Moreover, the coinage was easy to forge, which led to heavy losses, as Tughluq subsequently withdrew the forged currency by exchanging it for bullion coins. It is said that after the plan failed, there were heaps of copper coins lying around the royal offices for years.