SHAHI: COIN OF AFGHANISTAN
3 shahi, 1920: Emirate of Afghanistan
AH 1299 (AH: Latin "Anno Hegirae" — "the year of the Hijra"; Islamic calendar) = 1920 (Gregorian calendar).
Ruler: Ghazi Amanullah Khan — the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, Afghanistan was able to proclaim independence from the influence of the United Kingdom.
الغازي امان الل: Al-Ghazi Amanullah.
١٢٩٩: 1299 (date on the coin: 1920 according to the Gregorian calendar).
10 stars all around.
سه شاهى: three shahi.
Coat of arms of the Emirate of Afghanistan: an image of a mosque with a mihrab in front of Mecca with a prayer mat inside; two flags are attached to the mosque — the flags of Afghanistan.
- Copper: 32 mm - 8.55 g
- Reference price: 14$
COIN SHAHI — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- EMIRATE OF AFGHANISTAN (19th-20th centuries): shahi = 5 paisa = 1/12 rupee
- PERSIA (IRAN during 16th-20th centuries): shahi = 1/20 qiran (last century of emission)
SHAHI as coin name.
Shahi — historical coin of Persia (this was the name of modern Iran until 1935) and Afghanistan.
It first appeared approximately at the beginning of the 16th century in Persia as a rather large (over 9 g) silver coin with a traditional design for Muslim coins — only texts and ornaments, without images of people or animals. This continued for almost 4 centuries in a row.
During 1888-1935 Persian shahi were minted from copper. After that, the denomination disappeared from circulation. Modern Iran does not issue a shahi coin.
Afghan copper shahis of the late 19th and early 20th centuries are also relatively common in numismatic collections.
It is interesting that in the 17th century, Persian shahis were used in monetary circulation on the island of Sri Lanka — local counterstamps (countermarked coins) were applied to these coins.
The name of the shahi coin comes from the Persian term "شاهي", which translates as "royal" from the Sindhi language.
