JOURNAL 



ASIATIC SOCIETY 



On the Coins of the Independent Muhammadan Sovereigns of Bengal. 

 By J. W. Laidlay, Esq., Co- Secretary Asiatic Society. 



Some months ago, as most of the readers of this Journal are perhaps 

 aware, the greater part of the collection of ancient coins belonging to 

 the Asiatic Society was abstracted from the Museum, and along with 

 these, a valuable gold medal, the gift of the present Emperor of Russia. 

 About the time when this unfortunate event occurred, I was engaged in 

 arranging a series of the coins of the independent Muhammadan sove- 

 reigns of Bengal, and had reason to believe, that with the assistance of 

 the Society's cabinet, which contained many rare and unique specimens 

 of that type, I should succeed in filling the gaps in my own collection, 

 and render the series tolerably complete. As misfortunes, however, 

 rarely happen singly, it occurred that just about the same time, my own 

 little cabinet sustained a similar loss. At a moment of neglect, — for 

 we have in general but our own negligence to blame for mishaps of this 

 nature, — nearly the whole of my gold and silver coins, including many 

 uniques, and almost all of the series now under consideration, a series 

 which had employed many years and much labour to collect, were 

 purloined from my cabinet, those of copper only being spared to me, 

 as being of too little intrinsic value to be worth the labour of removal. 



No. 173. No. 89, New Series. 2x 



