Salar Jung Museum Hosts Talk On Deccan Coinage And Mints

Hyderabad:From images of gods and animals to inscriptions in Arabic, coins in medieval India underwent several changes under different rulers. A talk on Deccan coinage and mints was held at Salar Jung Museum on Saturday traced the evolution of coinage from the medieval period to the Asaf Jahi era.

Prof Danish Moin, department of history at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University (Manuu), discussed the different coinage traditions and the influence from the 14th to 19th centuries of the Vijayanagara empire, Deccan sultanates, Mughals and Asaf Jahi rulers on coin designs, inscriptions and minting techniques.

Explaining two coinage traditions, one followed by the Vijayanagara empire and the other by the Deccan sultanates, Prof Moin said the Vijayanagara empire continued the ancient Indian coinage tradition, which had existed since the 6th century BC.

"It was one of the few medieval dynasties to continue it. The coins issued carried pictorial symbols such as gods, goddesses, animals, trees and other images," he said.

According to Prof Moin, the Deccan sultanates, including Bahmani, Adil Shahi, Nizam Shahis and Qutb Shahis, issued coins following Islamic traditions. This was introduced in India around the early 12th century and became common by the 13th century. This brought a major change with Arabic language and script were introduced making coins informative, he said.

He also explained about the Asaf Jahi coinage, which also underwent two important changes, with early Nizams continuing to issue coins in the name of the Mughal emperor. Gradually the names were removed and replaced with the title Asaf Jahi Nizam Mulk Bahadur that was continued by all the Nizams, he said.

The second major development was the introduction of the machine-made coins in Hyderabad, which was the first Indian princely state to adopt this technology.

The speaker also explained the term Farkhunda Bunyad, meaning city of auspicious foundation, was widely used as the title of Hyderabad on coins used during the Asaf Jahi period.

He also outlined various coin-making techniques, including punching, casting, Repousse technique, die-striking and finery machining.

Discussing the mints of Deccan kingdoms, he listed Ahsanabad (Gulbarga), Muhammadabad (Bidar), Daulatabad and Goa among the important mints of the Bahmani period. The Qutb Shahi rulers used mints at Golconda and Hyderabad, while Dabhol was an important mint for Adil Shahi silver coins(larin).

Prof. Moin also referred to the mints of the Nizam Shahi and Mughal kingdoms, including Ahmednagar, Daulatabad, Aurangabad, Ujjain, Gulbarga and Hyderabad. During the early Asaf Jahi period, coins were produced at Aurangabad and Daulatabad. However, from the reign of the later Nizams, particularly the fourth Nizam, Sikandar Jah, Hyderabad emerged as the central mint, he said.