A Coin with Beautiful Caligraphy

[Sulla80]

Sultan Mustafa II sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703, dressed in full armor, early 18th century Unknown author. Image public domain courtesy of wikimedia commons.

 

This coin is far out of my normal range, issued in 1695, but the beautiful caligraphy pulled me in.  It wasn't labelled so it took me a bit of digging to decipher and attribute.  The scale of this coin was also a big draw: 16.2g. 39.2mm.

The mint was the easiest part to decipher: قسطنطینية  Qustantiniya.  The metal (I still have some doubts) appears to be debased silver copper alloy (425/1000 Silver & 575/1000 Copper) deeply tarnished.

The denomination :  1 Turkish kuruş

The legend confused me as I was looking for a kalima when I started.  The floral embellishments also misled me - eventually getting to:

Obverse:
سلطان البـرين Sultan of the two lands
وخاقان البحــرين and khaqan of the two seas,
السلطان بن the sultan, son of
 السلطان the sultan

Reverse:

السلطان Sultan
مصطفى بن احمد خان Mustafa son of Ahmed Khan (Mehmed IV)
ابو الفتح Father of Conquest 
ضرب في Struck in
قسطنطينية Qustintiniyah (Constantinople or today Istanbul)
١١٠٦ AH1106 - 1695

Mustafa II's reign was a period of transition and challenge for the Ottoman Empire, with military setbacks in Europe and internal dissent, which set the stage for the 18th century Ottoman politics.

The Great Turkish War (1683-1699)

Mustafa II was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703. He ascended to the throne late in the The Great Turkish War (1683-1699).  The war ended with the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, which forced the Ottoman Empire to give up significant territory in Central Europe to the Habsburg Monarchy, Poland, and Venice including Hungary and parts of the Balkans.  This loss shifted the power dynamics between Europe and the Ottoman Empire and marks the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire.

Family

Mustafa II had at least eight sons and 10 consorts.

Culture & Arts

Although Mustafa II would have continued support of the arts and architecture, he had to deal withe the financial challenges of prolonged war and the loss of territory.  The empire’s focus was on recovering from military engagements and stabilizing the region, which diverted resources and attention away from the patronage of the arts and new architectural projects.

End of His Reign

22 August 1703, the "Edirne Incident", saw a revolt of the Janissaries, the elite force of soldiers that were the personal protective force of the sultan.  Mustafa II was forced to abdicate.  Mustafa II tried to modernize and strengthen the army by incorporating more contemporary European military techniques and strategies. The Janissaries were dissatisfied with the Sultan’s handling of military affairs and his drift from traditional Ottoman ruling practices. This revolt weakened the authority of the Ottoman sultanate and strengthened the Janissary corps in the empire’s political hierarchy.

(for a maintained version of this post with references and additional coins & history see: https://www.sullacoins.com/post/mustafa-ii-ottoman-empire)

Post coins with beautiful calligraphy, coins of the Ottoman Empire, or anything else that you find interesting or entertaining.

 

Edited May 12 by Sulla80

[ewomack]

Very nice, @Sulla80! I have wanted to explore Ottoman coinage, but just haven't made the dive yet.

These are more modern (circa 1950s), but I've always loved the Arabic on this series of Saudi Arabian coins.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

It does indeed have beautiful caligraphy!  I also enjoyed the writeup.

I have very few Islamic coins, most being uncleaneds from Zurqieh or a misc. junky pseudo-uncleaneds from dirtyoldcoins.

[JeandAcre]

Thanks for the terrific OP, @Sulla80.  I'm on @ewomack's page about never having gotten as far as Ottoman coins.  But it never ceases to amaze that, all the way from the original Caliphates, the Islamic ruling elites never stopped patronizing scholarship and the arts.  (Compare to the selective literacy of some contemporary European monarchs.)  (Edit:) Right, and maybe with Ottoman influence, the calligraphy of the northern Indian issues, also well into the 19th century,is truly exquisite.

...This is annoying.  If you go back far enough, I got a range of Andalusian quirats, covering most of the Almoravid emirs (late 11th -earlier 12th c. CE), including co-issues with heirs.  They're sweet little fractional dirhams (upwards of 10 mm), and especially for the scale, the Kufic is creditable, at least.  These are the only two that are findable in .jpg --the rest of them are hiding somewhere.  I'll start with the venerable website for the Tonegawa Collection, proceeding to my 1998 ed. of Album.  (Caveat: I eventually upgraded the one of Yusuf Ibn Tashfin.)

Yusuf ibn Tashfin  يوسف بن تاشفين  (AH 480 - 500 / 1087- 1106 CE.)

Cf. Cf. http://www.andalustonegawa.50g.com/almoravids_silver.htm, 1st row (for his reign), 4th example.

Album (2nd ed., 1998) 465, noting 'several variants, mostly without mint.' 

 

 

 

Ali ibn yusuf with heir Tashfin, AH 533-537 / 1139-1142/3 CE.  Cf. http://www.andalustonegawa.50g.com/almoravids_silver.htm, 5th row, 1st example, citing Vives and Hazard.  Album (2nd ed., 467 /cf. 466) confirms the dates of the coissues.

Edited May 11 by JeandAcre

[Alegandron]

Excellent coin, @Sulla80.  Although, I do not read or write Arabic.  Had a friend in University teach me how to write my name, and showed me how the language was written, etc.  It was fascinating. Today: Brain dead.  I honestly have no clue of the writing.

 

I only have a couple Ottomans:  START and HEIGHT of their Empire.

Ottoman Turks Sultan Mahmed II 1451-1481 took Constantinople in 1453 Serez mint AR 1.2g

 

Ottoman Empire Suleiman the Magnificent 1520-1566 AV Sultani CE Constantinople mint 1520 19mm 3.5g

[Sulla80]

21 minutes ago, Alegandron said:

Excellent coin, @Sulla80.  Although, I do not read or write Arabic.  Had a friend in University teach me how to write my name, and showed me how the language was written, etc.  It was fascinating. Today: Brain dead.  I honestly have no clue of the writing.

 

I only have a couple Ottomans:  START and HEIGHT of their Empire.

Ottoman Turks Sultan Mahmed II 1451-1481 took Constantinople in 1453 Serez mint AR 1.2g

 

Ottoman Empire Suleiman the Magnificent 1520-1566 AV Sultani CE Constantinople mint 1520 19mm 3.5g

A great coin @Alegandron - there are some words that start to make sense when stare at them long enough e.g. I think your mint is the same as mine

قسطنطينية Qustintiniyah (Constantinople or today Istanbul)

۹۲٦ date 926 (below mint) or CE 1520

Obverse is on the right in your photo.

[zanzi]

Such a beautiful coin! I wish I was able to read Arabic, I think it would lead me to appreciate the calligraphy even more. Still, I do enjoy the artful designs. The only Ottoman coin I have is below, it was issued by the nephew of Mustafa II. It's in pretty poor condition (quite typical for its kind) so doesn't really exhibit nice calligraphy like Sulla80's coin.

 

Ottoman Empire - Mustafa III

AR para - 0.3 grams - 15mm, 0.4mm thick

Islambol (Istanbul) Mint

Frozen date of 1171 AH, but given Royal Year of 7, so 1177 AH = 1763-1764 AD

Posted to Zeno.ru, 329055

[Alegandron]

10 hours ago, Sulla80 said:

A great coin @Alegandron - there are some words that start to make sense when stare at them long enough e.g. I think your mint is the same as mine

قسطنطينية Qustintiniyah (Constantinople or today Istanbul)

۹۲٦ date 926 (below mint) or CE 1520

Obverse is on the right in your photo.

THANK YOU! Nice that it confirms the attribute.

[lordmarcovan]

Iran (Persia): gold toman of Fath-Ali Shah, AH 1233 (1817), Yazd mint

Obverse: inscription in Persian calligraphy within beaded border.*
Reverse: inscription in Persian calligraphy within beaded border.
Issuer: Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, Shah of Persia (1797-1834).
Specifications: gold, 23 mm approx., 4.56 g. Type W. Dar al-Ibadah (Yazd) mint. 
Grade: PCGS MS62; cert. #34401230.
Reference: KM-753.13, PCGS-446914, Numista 119519.
Provenance: ex-Najaf Chalabiani, DBA Najaf Coins & Collectibles, Vancouver, Canada, 20 October 2017. Purchased raw.
Notes: Coins of this era of Qajar Dynasty Persia (modern day Iran) were still struck by the ancient hand-hammeredtechnique. By the latter half of the 19th century, more modern milled coinage was being produced. Because of Islamic traditions of aniconism, their coins do not bear images of sentient creatures like people or animals, rather favoring flowing calligraphic inscriptions and geometric designs instead. Yet somehow the coins are no less beautiful or interesting to look at despite their relative lack of pictorial imagery.
Comments: I purchased this coin because it was struck in AH 1233 (1817), which was the birthyear of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. I was raised in the Baha'i religion, so while it was certainly a beautiful coin to add to my collection, it has even more personal significance to me in terms of family tradition and sentimental esteem. I was happy when it graded Mint State after submission to PCGS for certification.

Edited May 16 by lordmarcovan