Moghuls – Ālamgīr II – Qanauj (ʹAlamgirābād) Mint, Silver

Actual Weight (g)

Actual Diameter (mm)

Metal

Silver

Catalogue

Cat No.	Photo Link	KM	Denomination	AH	RY	Provenance	Comments	Rarity
AL			Rupee		1

From Shailen Bhandare:

I had been delaying the announcement of new mints in our mint-theme because of this (hitherto) unique coin - the credit for its discovery goes to Numis Khan! It has the mint-name 'Alamgirabad Qanauj' which is entirely new in the repertoire of mint-towns so congratulations to Khan Sahib.

The chronological details on the coin [AH116(9)/RY3] indicate that it was struck during the reign of Nawab Ahmed Khan Bangash, between May and September 1756. I went through several sources of History on the Bangash Nawabs of Farrukhabad (most prominently the "The Bangash Nawabs of Farrukhabad - A Chronicle (1713-1857) by William Irwine, published in JASB vol. XLVIII, part 1, 1879) to find out the identity of 'Alamgirabad' - whether it is just an alias of Qanauj, or a 'location descriptor' for a place in the Sarkar of Qanauj. Unfortunately, all searches drew a blank so at the moment I am treating this as an alias of Qanauj. One source I have not consulted is the NWP Gazetteer by Atkinson. Perhaps something might be revealed later.

During the period in which the coin was struck, North India was reeling under a threat of invasion by Ahmed Shah Durrani (which happened in early 1757). All sorts of political alliances were being built, chiefly through the offices of the all-powerful Wazir Ghazi ud-Din the Younger or 'Imad ul-Mulk. Around this time, a truce had been reached between the Bangash Nawab (who was a very close friend of the Wazir) and the Nawab of Awadh, through the embassy of Ali Kuli Khan. As a result of these negotiations, the Bangash Nawab emerged as a firm ally of the Emperor Alamgir II (who was really a puppet in hands of 'Imad), in contrast to his other Afghan kinsmen the Ruhelas under Najib Khan. It is plausible that the alias 'Alamgirabad' was accorded to Qanauj to reflect these political bonds.

Ahmed Khan Bangash is also known to have married during this period, which occasioned the sending of special gifts from the Emperor, which were received with due pomp and circumstance.

A curious anecdote which Irwine mentions about Ahmed Khan is his fondness for 'fresh coins'! Apparently, Ahmed Khan played a game of spreading coins on the open floor in sunshine so that they did not turn black. This took several hours and he watched it with glee while he smoked hukkah after hukkah. He then ordered his servants and chelas to walk over the coins with wax applied on soles of their feet - as a result of which some coins stuck to them. At the end of the game, Ahmed Khan stored away the coins in bags and claimed a surprise at the shortfall, having lost some coins to his favorites. A very strange coin game this is - but it has been recorded in a contemporary Farsi chronicle so appears to be quite reliable as fact.