Persia (Post-Mongol). Timurids. Shah Rukh I, AH 807-850 / AD 1405-1447. Tanka (Silver, 21 mm, 5.05 g, 4 h), Fifth coinage, Sunni reverse type F, Sari, Date off flan (AH 827-850 / AD 1424-1447). Within square, in three lines: lā ilāha illā / Allāh Muḥammad / rasūl Allāh (‘There is no deity but God; Muḥammad is the Messenger of God’ in Arabic). Around: Abū Bakr / ʿUmar / ʿUthmān / ʿAlī (the names of the four Rashidun caliphs in Arabic). Rev. zarb-i al-sulṭān al-aʿẓam Shāhrukh Bahādur khallada Allāh mulkahu wa sulṭānahu Sārī (‘The supreme sultan Shāhrukh Bahādur, may God perpetuate his kingdom and sovereignty, Struck in Sārī’ in Arabic and Persian). Album 2405. Nicely toned. Small deposits on the obverse and tiny scratches, otherwise, good very fine.


The present issue belongs to the so-called Sunni reverse series, distinguished by the inclusion of the names of the four Rashidun caliphs around the obverse field.

The mint of Sārī in Māzandarān produced an important provincial coinage under the Timurids, though well-preserved examples with clear legends are considerably less common than the major metropolitan issues from Herat or Samarqand.