Lot 293

Bengal Sultanate, Sikandar bin Ilyas (AH 758-792, 1357-1389 AD), Silver Tanka, 10.81 gms, 29.37 mm, Mulk Nawalistan Mint, starting from 3'o clock to 12'o clock thamanin wa saba' miyat, AH 780, Obv: Arabic legends "al-wathiq bi-tayid al-rahman abu'l mujahid Sikandar Shah bin Ilyas Shah al-sultan" within a circle,"al-imam al-a'zam wa'l khalifat al'mu'azzam"& the four Caliphs' names in four circles in the margin, Rev: Arabic legends "yamin khalifat allah nasir amir al-mu'minin ghawth al-islam wa'l muslimin khuld khilafatahu"in scalloped cartouche, "zarb hada al sikka al mubarak fi mulk Nawalistan" & Hijri year "thamanin wa saba' miyat" (=780) in the margin, The mint-name 'Mulk Nawalistan' is a newly discovered addition to the mints of the Bengal Sultanate and was recently recorded for this ruler from a small hoard of coins. The identity of 'Nawalistan' is uncertain and it may have been erroneously engraved by the die-engraver instead of 'Mulk Chawalistan urf Arsah Kamru' which was known to have briefly operated earlier during the same Sultan's rule. The type is not listed in G&G. The adjective 'al-Sikka al-Mubarak' indicates this was a 'blessed coin', probably indicating its commemorative nature, Unlisted in G&G, about extremely fine, extremely rare.