Persian anonymous copper. temp. Sultan Husayn, AH 1105-1135 / AD 1694-1722 (?). Falus (Copper, 23 mm, 13.54 g, 2 h), Urdu (military mint) near Iravan (Yerevan in Armenia), AH [11]25? = AD 1713/4?. Bird to left within floral design. Rev. In field: fulūs zarb-i Urdū [11]25? (‘Falus, struck at Urdu, [11]25’ in Persian). Valentine -. Apparently unpublished. Slightly rough and small flan fault on the edge, otherwise, good very fine.


The mint-name Urdū is especially interesting and denotes a military or camp mint rather than a normal urban mint. The first two digits of the date are illegible, but the style and fabric have a close connection with the anonymous Safavid copper coinage of Iravan in Armenia, suggesting that it was minted somewhere in the Iravan region during the late Safavid period, most probably in AH [11]25.

This appears to be an apparently unpublished issue in the major references for Persian copper coinage.