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Coinage of the Qajars: a System in Continual Transition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Priscilla Soucek
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Extract

In Iran, long-standing traditions linked the power and prestige of a ruler with the quality and appearance of coins minted in his name. Normally each dynastic or generational shift was made visibly manifest by changes in the character and appearance of a region's coins. In general, coins issued by the Qajars from Fath ᶜAli Shah to Nasir al-Din Shah followed precedents established by earlier Muslim rulers but the Qajars also sponsored novel experiments, such as the elimination of religious phrases, the occasional use of figural designs and the replacement of hammered coins with machine made examples. It is these contradictory impulses of adherence to custom and the pursuit of innovation that give Qajar coinage its particular fascination. The richest and most varied examples were issued during the reign of Fath ᶜAli Shah (1797-1834). Not surprisingly his coins differ significantly from those issued by his less powerful predecessors, Muhammad Hasan Khan Qajar and Aqa Muhammad Khan Qajar.

Type
Articles
Information
Iranian Studies , Volume 34 , Issue 1-4: Qajar Art and Society , 2001 , pp. 51 - 87
Copyright
Copyright © Association For Iranian Studies, Inc 2001

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