Gold
mohur (coin) of Shah
Jahangir, with his portrait
Mughal dynasty, AH 1020 / AD
1611
India
A likeness of the ruler of
India
The Mughal historian Muhammad Hashim Khafi Khan
records that the emperor Jahangir (reigned 1605-28) gave orders in
AH 1020 (AD 1611) for the issue of a new coin - like a
commemorative medal for presentation. The Emperor ordered that a
piece of gold the weight of a gold
mohur (coin), with the
image of himself on one side and a lion surmounted by a sun on the
other 'should be given to favourite Amirs or most devoted
servants, and that they were to wear it respectfully on the sash of
the turban or on the breast front as a life preserving
amulet'.
The
inscription on the coin is in Arabic script. It translates as:
'A likeness of Jahangir Shah, son of Akbar Shah, in the
year six of his reign'. The coin is dated on the reverse AH
1020 according to the Muslim calendar (equivalent to AD 1611).
Several examples of these coins have mounts, so that they could be
used as jewellery.