IRAN, Qajars. Fath 'Ali Shah, as Shah, AH 1212-1250 / AD 1797-1834. Qiran (Silver, 23 mm, 6.85 g, 7 h), type E, Astarabad (Dār al-muʾminīn), AH 1246 = AD 1830/1. sikkih-yi Fatḥ ‘Alī Shah khusraw-i ṣāḥibqirān (‘The coin of Fath ‘Ali Shah, the king, the Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction’ in Persian). Rev. Within two concentric pearl circles: zarb-i dār al-muʾminīn-i Astarābād (‘Struck at the abode of the faithful, Astarabad’ in Persian). Dated 1246 at the bottom. Album 2894. KM 710. Well struck with clear legends and lightly toned. Adjustment marks and small areas of weakness, otherwise, extremely fine.


The title ṣāḥibqirān (‘Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction’) has its origin in medieval Islamic astrology, referring to the highly favourable conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, traditionally associated with the rise of a world ruler. The epithet was famously adopted by Tīmūr and later rulers to emphasise universal sovereignty and divinely sanctioned kingship. Its use on Qajar coinage reflects the continuation of this Timurid and Turko-Mongol ideological tradition. The denomination name qirān comes from this couplet.