What coins did Nader Shah issue?

Chiefly silver rupees of about 11.4 g on the Mughal standard, plus abbasis and fractions, scarce gold mohurs and copper falus, struck from Tabriz and Mashhad to Kabul and Delhi.

Why do Zand coins not name the ruler?

Karim Khan Zand refused the royal title and struck in the name of the Twelfth Imam, presenting himself as deputy of the people rather than shah.

How do you tell an Afsharid coin from a Safavid one?

Nader Shah dropped the Shi'a formula naming Ali and the Twelve Imams and used a Persian sovereignty couplet instead, so Afsharid silver carries a non-sectarian legend that Safavid coins never show.

Persian Treasury

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1736 – 1796 CE · Iran, Caucasus, parts of Central Asia

Afsharid & Zand Coins

Nader Shah Afshar struck silver rupees in conquered Mughal India and issued the heavy Nader Shahi silver. The Zand dynasty under Karim Khan minted the elegant 'rial' from Shiraz.

In short

Afsharid and Zand coins are the silver and gold of Iran between 1736 and 1794 — Nader Shah's heavy Mughal-standard rupees carrying a sovereignty couplet instead of the Shi'a formula, and Karim Khan Zand's modest, deliberately humble issues struck in the name of the hidden Imam rather than his own.

Key facts

Key facts about Afsharid & Zand coinage
Period	1736–1794 CE
Afsharid silver	Rupee ~11.4 g; abbasi ~4.6 g
Zand silver	Abbasi and rupee, lighter and less consistent
Gold	Mohur (Afsharid) and ashrafi (Zand), both scarce
Key mints	Mashhad, Tabriz, Isfahan, Shiraz, Herat, Kabul, Shahjahanabad
Dating	AH years, plus regnal years on some Afsharid issues

Nader Shah and the money of conquest

Nader Shah's coinage is the numismatic record of an empire funded by campaign. After the sack of Delhi in 1739 he adopted the Mughal rupee standard of about 11.4 g, and Indian-mint rupees in his name — Shahjahanabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Kabul — are common in the market today.

The great break is religious. Nader removed the Shi'a formula naming Ali and the Twelve Imams and replaced it with a Persian couplet claiming universal sovereignty: coin struck on gold and silver 'from the moon to the fish' by the lord of the conjunction. That single change separates his silver at a glance from both Safavid and Qajar issues.

The Zand interlude

Karim Khan Zand (r. 1751–1779) never took the title of shah, styling himself vakil al-ra'aya, the deputy of the people. His coins follow suit: they carry no ruler's name, striking instead in the name of the Twelfth Imam, and are plain where Afsharid silver is assertive.

Shiraz was his capital and principal mint; Khoy, Isfahan, Tabriz, Rasht and Kashan also struck. Weight standards are looser than under Nader, and post-1779 civil-war issues of the rival Zand claimants are often crudely struck on small flans.

Identification

Three checks place almost any coin of this half-century. Is there a Shi'a formula? If not, and a Persian couplet appears instead, it is Afsharid. Is the ruler named at all? If not, and the legend invokes the hidden Imam, it is Zand. Does the weight approach 11.4 g? Then it is a rupee on the Mughal standard.

AH dates 1148–1160 cover Nader's reign (1736–1747); 1165–1193 cover Karim Khan. Coins in Nader's name dated after 1160 AH are posthumous Indian continuations, not lifetime issues.

Rarity and value

Indian-mint Afsharid rupees are the accessible entry point and trade at modest prices. Iranian-mint silver in sharp grade is scarcer; gold mohurs, especially from Mashhad or the 1739 Delhi issue, are the trophies of the series.

Zand silver is generally inexpensive but genuinely scarce in high grade, because the coins circulated hard in an unstable period. Well-struck Shiraz abbasis with full legends are undervalued relative to their historical interest.

Frequently asked

What coins did Nader Shah issue?: Chiefly silver rupees of about 11.4 g on the Mughal standard, plus abbasis and fractions, scarce gold mohurs and copper falus, struck from Tabriz and Mashhad to Kabul and Delhi.
Why do Zand coins not name the ruler?: Karim Khan Zand refused the royal title and struck in the name of the Twelfth Imam, presenting himself as deputy of the people rather than shah.
How do you tell an Afsharid coin from a Safavid one?: Nader Shah dropped the Shi'a formula naming Ali and the Twelve Imams and used a Persian sovereignty couplet instead, so Afsharid silver carries a non-sectarian legend that Safavid coins never show.

Historical note

Nader Shah's 1739 sack of Delhi brought immense gold and silver back to Persia — his Mughal-style rupees from Indian mints are bilingual Persian-Mughal pieces.

Karim Khan Zand modestly styled himself 'Vakil al-Ra'aya' ('Deputy of the People') rather than Shah; his rials carry only this title and the Shia kalima.

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The pieces

Catalogue · 3 entries

Plate 01

Nader Shah Silver Double Rupee

Nader Shah Afshar

Date: 1738–9 CE (AH 1151)
Metal: Silver
Weight: ~22.4 g
Mint: Kabul

ObversePersian couplet praising Nader.

ReverseMint and date.

Bilingual issues struck after the conquest of Delhi in 1739.

Source · Commons – Nader Shah double rupee

Plate 02

Nader Shah Silver Rupee — Isfahan

Nader Shah Afshar

Date: AH 1148–1160 / 1736–1747 CE
Metal: Silver
Mint: Isfahan

ObversePersian couplet with Nader's titles 'al-Sultan...Nader'.

ReverseMint name 'Isfahan' and AH date in panel.

Struck at the former Safavid capital after Nader took the throne in 1736. Heavy issues from melted Mughal treasure circulated alongside his Indian-mint rupees.

Source · Commons – Nader Shah coin, Isfahan

Plate 03

Zand Gold Quarter Mohur

Karim Khan Zand

Date: 1751–1779 CE
Metal: Gold
Weight: ~2.74 g
Mint: Khoy (also Shiraz, Isfahan, Tabriz, Kashan)

ObverseShia kalima with Twelve Imams.

Reverse'Ya Karim' (play on his name and an attribute of God).

Among the most beautifully calligraphed Persian coins.

Source · Commons – Karim Khan Zand coin