Persia (Post-Mongol). Aq Qoyunlu. Ya'qub, AH 883-896 / AD 1478-1490. Ashrafi (Gold, 14 mm, 3.34 g, 10 h), hybrid type with Mamluk-style reverse, uncertain mint, no date. Central field, in four lines: al-sulṭān al-aʿẓam Abū / al-muẓaffar Yaʿqūb Bahādur / khallada Allāh mulkahu / wa-sulṭānahu (‘The most mighty sultan Abū al-Muẓaffar Yaʿqūb Bahādur, May God perpetuate his kingdom and his sovereignty’ in Arabic). Rev. Central field, in three lines, separated by three Greek cables: [lā ilāha illā] / Allāh Muḥammad rasū / l Allāh (‘There is no deity but God alone; Muḥammad is the Messenger of God’ in Arabic). Album 2519. Exceptionally rare and of great interest. Minor deposits and marks, otherwise, good very fine.



This remarkable issue combines a conventional Aq Qoyunlu obverse legend naming Yaʿqūb Bahādur with a reverse in the characteristic Mamluk ashrafī style, including the decorative cable dividers typical of Mamluk gold coinage. Such design borrowing reflects the strong influence of Mamluk monetary types, which circulated widely across the Middle East during the fifteenth century.

Gold coinage of the Aq Qoyunlu dynasty is itself rare, as their monetary system relied primarily on silver and copper denominations. Ashrafīs struck in the name of Yaʿqūb are particularly rare and are frequently encountered with later countermarks applied during circulation. Specimens without countermarks, such as the present example, are significantly rarer.