Persia (Post-Mongol). Zands. Muhammad Karim Khan, AH 1164-1193 / AD 1751-1779. 1/4 Mohur (Gold, 22 mm, 2.77 g, 10 h), type C, Qazwin, date off flan. Couplet: shud āftāb u māh zar u sīm dar jahān / az sikkih-yi imām-i bi-ḥaqq ṣāḥib al-zamān (‘The sun and moon have become gold and silver in the world / from the coin of the rightful Imam [the twelfth imam], the Lord of the Age’ in Persian). Rev. Within an elegant cartouche; above: yā Karīm. zarb-i dār al-salṭanih-yi Qazwīn (‘Struck at the abode of the sultanate, Qazwin’ in Persian). Album 2791. Lustrous and with well-preserved calligraphy. Small areas of weakness, otherwise, about extremely fine.


The invocation yā Karīm (‘O Generous One’ in Arabic) operates with a deliberate double reference, invoking a divine attribute while simultaneously alluding to the name of Karīm Khān. Such layered usage of religious formulae is a recognised feature of Islamic coin inscriptions, where devotional expressions may also serve to reinforce royal identity.