216 



C. J. Eodgers — Copper Coins of Alchar. 



[No. 4, 



which have accrued to it since the time of Akbar we leave a much smaller 

 amount for land revenue simple than that realized by the third Mogul. I 

 strongly suspect that the whole of these returns are paper sums which were 

 never realized. 



Let us now look at some other features in the coins : — the mint towns 

 claim a word. They are A'grah, Lahor, Narnol, Ahmadabad, Dehli, Fath- 

 piir, Hissar Firozah, Lakhnau, Urdu Zafarfarin, Multan, Ilahabas, Go- 

 bindpur, Doganw (?), Attak Banaras, Kabul, in all sixteen mints. I 

 have in my cabinet some half dozen to-me-illegible mints more of Akbar. 

 In the Lahore Museum is a great heap of Akbar's large copper /mZms, as 

 yet unarranged. 



Narnol is not given in Thomas, neither is Fathpur or Doganw or 

 Gobindpiir. Fathpur is Fathpur Sikri near Agrah. It rejoices in the title 

 of Dar us Saltauat on both gold and silver coins of Akbar. I have one rupee 

 of Shahjahan struck at the same place. Attak Banaras is undoubtedly 

 Attock on the Indus ; for interesting remarks on this place I must refer 

 the reader to General Cunningham's ArchEEological Survey Report, Vol. II, 

 pp. 93, 94. 



The years and months deserve notice. No sooner had Akbar pro- 

 claimed the change in the year than he began to strike coins according to 

 his new system. The coins of the year 30 Ilahi are very rare indeed. I 

 have two rupees of that year but no copper coins. (This was the year of 

 the change.) Akbar reverted to Kalimah rupees after this. His square 

 rupees with alif (= in Arabic 1000) are somewhat common. They all have 

 the Kalimah on them. I have two square rupees of 1000 and 1001, with 

 the date in figures, and with the Kalimah on them. The months also figure 

 on the coins. Thus we have Shahrewar, Azr, Farwardiii, Urd i Bihisht, 

 Amr Dad, and Zi, or sis months out of the twelve on the few copper coins 

 here put forward. In rupees I have all the months. 1 am going to try 

 to complete one year, having already of some years four months. I sup- 

 pose the dies used must have needed constant replacing. Some of them were 

 very sharp and deep and would soon be the worse for wear. 



Of some places I have only figured one coin. I have several of most of 

 them. Thus of Narnol I have four and five of 963, and one of an illegible mint 

 of 966. The whole of the 50 years of Akbar's reign are I believe obtain- 

 able in all the metals, gold, silver and copper. I have every year in rupees, 

 except 965. During the last five years I have come across many mohurs 

 of different years. Some of these are of rare beauty. Systematic research 

 ought to bring these to light. The British Museum has dirliams of the 

 Khalifahs which go year by year from the commencement of their minting 

 to the time when they ceased striking. And what makes these series the 

 more interesting is the fact that each mint is thus represented year by 

 year, sometimes for nearly a hundred consecutive years. In India, one 



