156 
A. F. R. Hoernle — Copper Coins of the Suri Dynasty. [No. 2, 
and al-hdmiU, as the other word has sometimes been read,* is equally un- 
intelligible. The error may possibly have arisen in this way (see fig. 8) : 
the draftsman of the inscription had written the alif and Idm of al- 
hami with elongated up-sti-okes, reaching up to ft ’ahad ; by the side of 
them he had written tnlr ) and after it al-a (Kl) ; thus 
But the ignorant dye-sinker copied it in the senseless fashion as 
seen on the coins. The correct form however, is not uncommon, 
see figs. 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7. 
There are occasionally other blunders of a less striking description, 
which the reader will easily observe for himself. Some apparent 
blunders of this kind may be due to the fact, that sometimes the size 
of the coin was too small to take in the whole legend cut on the dye. 
Dams of Shee Shah. 
Sher Shah, Faridu-d-din, reigned from A. H. 947-952, or A. D. 
1540-1545. 
1st Type ; square areas with inscribed sectional margins, on both 
observe and reverse. 
1, Variety : area inscriptions, as on Nos. 356 and 357 of Thomas’ 
Chronicles. 
a, Subvariety : date on obverse area,t as in No. 356. The legends 
are as given in Chron., p. 402, except that the reverse margin reads in 
full AjlhLjj iSbo aJJ| ixLv The last two words iilkLc j iiDa are lost 
in Mr. Thomas’ specimen. The dates and mints vary greatly. The 
following mints occur in the hoard : Gwaliyar, 94 specimens ; Agra 51, 
Alwar 44, Shirgarh 60, Sambhal 19. A coin of Agra is figured in 
Thomas’ Chron., pi. V, fig. 185; Mi'. Rodgers has figured Alwar and 
Sambhal in this Journal, vol. XLIX, pi. XVIIIa, figs. 3, 4. I now 
give a figure of Gwaliyar, mainly to show the last word of the 
marginal inscription ; see Plate III, fig. 1. 
h, Subvariety : date on obverse margin, as on No. 357 of Thomas’ 
Chronicles. Dates and mints again vary. The mints represented in the 
hoard are: Narnol with 128 sjpecimens, Hisar with 75. Kalpi with 20, 
Malot with 16, apd Shirgarh with 3. No specimen of this subvariety 
has ever been figured. I give one of Kalpi, both sides, as it shows the 
* So by Mr. Rodgers in a MS. list of coins, given to the Indian Museum by 
the Archoeologioal Survey. I do not know what the word al-hdmiU could mean ; and 
even if it wore admissible, it would not remove the difficulty of almtrah. 
+ I call that the obverse which contain the legend /f ’ahad, etc. 
