Silver rupee of Sher Shah Suri – Agra-Gwalior

 

Obverse

Inscription	Sher Shah Sultan Khuld Allah Mulkahu wa Sultanahu (Centre)       Shri Sher Shahi (In Nagari) 950 Farid Al-Dunya wa Al-Din Abu’l Muzaffar (Clockwise)	शेर शाह सुल्तान ख़ुलद अल्लाह मूलकहु व सुल्तनहु (बीच में)   श्री शेर शाही (नागरी में) 950 फ़रीद अल-दुनिया व अल दीन अबु अल-मुज़फ़्फ़र (दक्षिणावर्त)	شیر شاہ سلطان خلد اللہ ملکہ و سلطنہ (بیچ میں)       شری شیر شاہی (ناگری میں) 950 فرید الدنیا و الدین ابو المظفر (گھڑی وار)
Translation	Sher Shah Sultan May God preserve his kingdom and rule (Centre)       Shri Sher Shahi (In Nagari) 950 Unique in this world and (in his interpretation) of the faith Father of the Conqueror (Clockwise)	शेर शाह सुल्तान भगवान इस राज्य और राज को कायम रखे (बीच में)   श्री शेर शाही (नागरी में) 950 दुनिया और धर्म (की व्याख्या  में) अद्वितीय विजेता के पिता (दक्षिणावर्त)	شیر شاہ سلطان خدا اس سلطنت اورحکوم کو قائم (بیچ میں)       شری شیر شاہی (ناگری میں) 950 دنیا اور دین (کی تشریح میں) کا فرید ابو المظفر (گھڑی وار)

Reverse

Inscription	La ila illallah Muhammad Rasul Allah (centre)   Aba Bakr Omar Osman Ali Al-Sultan Al-Adil (Clockwise)	ला इलाहा इल्लल्लाह मुहम्मद रसूलुल्लाह (बीच में)   अबा बक्र उमर उस्मान अली अल सुल्तान अल आदिल (चारों और)	لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ الله (بیچ میں)   ابا بکر عمر عثمان علی السلطان العدل (چارون اور)
Translation	There is no God but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God (in margins)     Abu Bakr Omar Osman Ali   The Sultan, the Just (Clockwise)	कोई भी परमेश्वर नहीं है, परमेश्वर के सिवा, मुहम्मद उस ईश्वर के प्रेषित हैं (बीच में)   अबू बक्र उमर उस्मान अली न्यायप्रिय सुल्तान (चारों और)	نہیں ہے کوئ معبود سواۓ اللہ کے محمد اللہ کے پیغمبر ہیں (بیچ میں)   ابوبکر عمر عثمان علی   عدل سلطان (چارون اور)

 

About

Farid Khan or better known as Sher Shah Suri (reigned: 1540-1545) is considered the founder of the Sur Empire. After expelling Humayun in 1540, Sher Shah seized power over the Mughal Empire for the next five years. He was a wise and capable administrator, and although Akbar finished the coinage reform, it was largely made possible by his brilliance.

He established a new economic and military administration, issued the first “Rupiya” from "Tanka," and structured the Indian Subcontinent's postal system. Other than standardizing the weights of the newly introduced currencies: rupee and dam; he was also responsible for the increase in the number of mints. While coins of Babur and Humayun were only minted chiefly in Agra, Lahore, Delhi and Kabul, at least twenty-three mint names appear on Suri coins. [i]  He extended the Grand Trunk Road from Chittagong in northeast India's Bengal province's frontier to Kabul in Afghanistan in the country's far northwest.

His arch-enemy Humayun referred to him as "Ustad-I-Badshahan," or "teacher of kings," indicating that the impact of his inventions and reforms went well beyond his brief reign. He never suffered a defeat during his rule.

The coin

The rupee featured here is from around 1543 AD (950 AH), which would indicate that it is from the middle of his reign. Most Suri coins are quite fine and have large flans. The obverse features the Sultan’s name along with the prayer “Khuld Allah Mulkahu wa Sultanahu” enclosed in a circular area. The margins have the date as well as an attempt to write the Sultan’s name in Devanagari, often very faulty. This practice is continued in later Suri coins also. Other than this, the margin also has the other part of the Sultan’s name, Farid-ud-din.

The reverse bears the Muslim declaration of faith also known as the Kalima Shahada within the circle and the names of the four orthodox Caliphs of Islam around it, although here without their epithets. Although some Suri coins write the name of their mint in words, here a mint mark is used. This “heart-shaped” mint mark is generally understood to designate Agra-Gwalior.

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[i]Brown, C. J. (1980). The Heritage of India Series: The Coins of India. University of Toronto Library.