282 C. J. Rodgers—The Copper Coins of Kashmir. {No. 4, 
Phe Copper Coins of the Sultins of Kashmtr.—By ©. J. Roverns. 
(With a Plate.) 
In nearly all the bazaars of the large cities of the Panjab large quan- 
tities of old coins of a peculiar stamp and bearing signs of much usage 
are obtainable. The obverse of these coins has a bar, with central knot, 
running from right to left of the coin. This central knot is in some cases 
elaborate, in others it degenerates into a carelessly formed circle. Above 
the bar come the words posd | wlhledj. The w of Sultén is nearly always 
hung on the J of that word, while the ¢ crosses the field completely. Be- 
low the bar the name of the king is written, occupying as a rule the whole 
space. In every case, except that of Zain ul-Abidin, the word Shah is added 
to the name. The reverse is occupied completely with the words &bwo yyrte 
Jo pS Wye, and the year is added in Arabic words. Were these coins 
obtainable in anything like a legible form, they would be exceedingly 
valuable in settling the chronology of Kashmir. But hitherto, in spite of 
most extensive search, only poor specimens of most of the kings have been 
obtained. 
The silver coins of these Sultans are all, so far as I know, square. 
Two of them, Muhammad Ali Shih and Muhammad Yusuf Shah, were 
published by Mr. Delmerick in J. A. 8S. B., Pt. I, 1876, Pl. VI, figs. 24 
and 25. I have silver coins of the above Muhammad Shah, Ismai’l Shah, 
Zain ul-Abidin, Nadir Shah and Akbar. General Cunningham has others, 
amongst which are Husain Shah and Humaytn. In all, this prince of In- 
dian Numismatists has the silver coins of ten Sultans. They are all square 
and are exceedingly rare. 
The copper coins with which this paper has to do are common as a 
rule. But some of them are of necessity rare. Zain ul-Abidin was the 
only one who seems to have deviated from the track of the cross bar and 
central knot. The reverses of his coins exhibit also a divergence from the 
usual form. They have the word wy crossed by the word ,A4S and 
around these words is a quarterfoil lozenge with elaborate knots in the 
outer corners. Some of this king’s coins conform to the bar and knot. I 
have not given specimens of these, as with so many other kings having them, 
they were not needed. Some of this king’s coins are brass. See No. 2. 
After the time of Akbar the reverses contained the year in Persian 
instead of Arabic. The coins of Husain Shah and Yusuf Shah exhibit 
these peculiarities. One of the three coins I have of Akbar has on the 
rA 
reverse (fold Gye, where the year is Akbar’s Ilthisan. I have said above 
that I have a square silver coin of Nadir Shah. Who this king was 1 do 
