# 5968
Complete set of 12 imitative Zodiac gold mohurs. Identical imitative gold mohurs are found on the website of ‘Thai Private Hands’, where they claim that only three museums in the world, are known to have all the 12 zodiacal gold coins of Jahangir, viz.: British Museum, London, England; Bode Museum, Berlin, Germany; Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris, France and one private collector, Thai Private Hands, Thailand. However none of the Zodiac gold mohurs on the website of ‘Thai Private Hands’ are authentic, but similar reproductions as the present set.
In 1859, Robert Ready was hired by the British Museum to create electrotypes of the most famous coins in the museum’s collection. This are exact metallic copies of the original coin. He did so until 1896, passing the task to his sons, who continued the family business until 1931. These pieces are very collectible today, and are occasionally offered by auctions. The pieces were stamped with R or RR on the edge to identify their origin. These pieces from the late 19th and early 20th centuries were sold to collectors in the belief that they would encourage scholarship and the appreciation of ancient numismatic art, but in reality, they provided a ready resource for many a forger. Because the Ready electrotypes sold by the British Museum were inexpensive, forgers could purchase them and use them as models for their own fakes, as may be the case with the present set, which most likely are produced with newly prepared dies from the British Museum electrotypes. All the imitative zodiac coins can be traced back to the coins in the collection of the British Museum.
Description of the series (The AD-dates hereafter are given according to Julian calendar, when authentic specimen of the same, would have been struck).
1. Ram (Aries; month: Farwardin), 1 mohur (10.91 g.), Agra, AH1030/Ry.16, ram to left, struck during the period 11-03-1621 to 11-04-1621 (BMC.323)
2. Bull (Taurus; month: Ardibihisht), 1 mohur (10.86 g.), Agra, AH1028/Ry.14, bull to left, struck during the period 11-04-1619 to 12-05-1619 (BMC.325)
3. Twin (Gemini; month: Khurdad), 1 mohur (10.93 g.), Agra, AH1032/Ry.18, struck during the period 12-05-1623 to 12-06-1623 (BM.332)
4. Crab (Cancer; month: Tir), 1 mohur, (10.91 g.), Agra, AH1029/Ry.15, struck during the period 12-06-1620 to 13-07-1620 (BMC333a)
5. Lion (Leo; month: Amardad), Agra, 1 mohur (10.89 g.), AH1028/Ry.14, lion to right, struck during the period 13-07-1619 to 13-08-1619 (BMC.334)
6. Virgin (Virgo; month: Shahrewar), 1 mohur (10.91 g.), Agra, 1033/Ry.19, struck during the period 13-08-1624 to 13-09-1624 (BM341; Fr.767; KM.180.11)
7. Scales (Libra; month: Mihr), 1 mohur (10.96 g.), Agra, AH1030/Ry.16, struck during the period 13-09-1621 to 13-10-1621 (BMC.343; Fr.768; KM.180.13)
8. Scorpion (Scorpio; month: Aban), 1 mohur (10.97 g.), Agra, AH1030/Ry.15, tail to right, regnal year above ‘Jahangir’, wrong date combination, AH1030 commences on 16-11-1620 and the Ilahi month Aban (Scorpio) of Ry.15 ends on 11-11-1620. (BM346)
9. Archer (Sagittarius; month: Azar), 1 mohur (10.94 g.) Agra, AH1031/Ry.16, struck during the period 12-11-1621 to 12-12-1621 (BMC.348)
10. Goat (Capricorn; month: Di), 1 mohur (10.91 g.), Agra, AH1032/Ry.17, struck during the period 12-12-1622 to 11-01-1623 (BM354)
11. Water bearer (Aquarius; month: Bahman), 1 mohur (10.97 g.), Agra, AH1031/Ry.16, struck during the period 11-01-1622 to 10-02-1622 (BMC.355)
12. Fishes (Pisces; month: Isfandarmuz), 1 mohur (10.95 g.), Agra, AH1028/Ry.13, struck during the period 10-02-1619 to 11-03-1619. All known coins of this date combination have a defect at two o’clock of the obverse, and were struck from the same die (BMC.358)
The legend on the reverse bears the usual Persian couplet seen on the gold mohurs of Agra mint: ‘rooye zar zewar yaft dar agrah az jahangir shah akbar shah’. The face of gold became (was made into) an ornament in Agra, from king Jahangir (the son of) king Akbar.
Historical background:
Beginning April 1618 (Julian calendar), Jahangir entered in his diary an innovation in coinage “Prior to this, it has been the rule that one side of gold coins my name has been engraved, and on the other side the name of the minting place, the month, and the regnal year. Around this time it occurred to me that instead of the month a figure of the constellation representing the month should be depicted. For example, for the month of Farwardin a figure of Aries could be made, and for the month of Ardibihisht the figure of Taurus, and so on for every month in which a coin was minted one side would bear a picture of the constellation in which the sun rose. This method is peculiarly my own and has never been used before.” (Ref.: The Jahangirnama, translated, edited and annotated by Wheeler M. Thackston, Oxford University Press, 1999.)
Jahangir was at that time residing at Ahmadabad, where his innovation was put immediately in practice and silver rupees with the figure of Aries [month Farwardin 10th March to 11th April (Julian calendar) or 21st March to 22nd April (Gregorian calendar)] were struck.
For the next four months rupees where struck with the figure of Taurus (month: Ardibihisht), Gemini (month: Khurdad), Cancer (month: Tir) and Leo (month: Amardad).
Despite that Jahangir left Ahmadabad on the 21st of Shahrewar (2 September 1618, Julian calendar) for Agra, no rupees with the image of Virgo has ever been traced. Probably because Jahangir appointed his son prince Khuram (future emperor Shah Jahan) a staunch Muslim, as viceroy of the Subah of Gujarat and governor of Ahmadabad. By the orders of the governor and future emperor Shah Jahan, the coining of the Zodiac rupees at Ahmadabad seems to have been forbidden.
The next issue of a zodiac coin, however, is a gold mohur struck at Fathepur (Sikri). Jahangir, on its way from Gujarat to Agra, stopped for three months at Fathpur Sikri, as a plague had broken out at the capital Agra. During this short stay the very rare zodiacal coin of Aries, dated AH1028/Ry.14, was struck at Fathpur mint.
The zodiacal coins of Ahmadabad are all struck in silver, most other zodiac coins are of gold and the majority struck at the capital Agra, as are all the specimen in this set. After the dead of Jahangir, his son and new emperor Shah Jahan forbid the use of the zodiac coins as well as the coins struck in the name of his mother, Nurjahan and ordered them, on dead penalty, to be returned to the mint.
The gold zodiac mohurs attracted already in the middle of the 17th century the fancy of collectors and particularly due to the policy of Shah Jahan, the demand could not meet the supply, and got imitated. Consequently original zodiac mohurs are rarely offered for sale these days and when offered they go for prices of 6-digits in dollars.
Therefore this complete set of 12 gold mohurs, despite all being late 19th or 20th century replicas of specimen in the British Museum, is still a magnificent example for educational purpose and exposition. All coins EF condition
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Starting price: € 5000.00
