The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c17.77

v4.c17.77

His artistic tastes led him to adorn the currency with the finest calligraphic designs which have appeared on Indian coins. Akbar had introduced new denominations, and Jahāngīr went further and raised the standard weight of the gold and silver units immediately after his succession. This change, which had no economic basis, was no improvement and was cancelled after five years. The *ilāhī* system of reckoning which had been started by Akbar was maintained in the records of the reign, though the lunar system was partly restored in the coinage. In spite of the prohibitions of Islām against the representation of human or animal life the emperor was bold enough to strike medals and coins on which his portrait was stamped. Roe tells us that one of these was presented to him and he was instructed by Āsaf Khān to wear it round his neck, while Austin of Bordeaux wore one on his hat. One type of this coin even shows the emperor with a drinking cup in his hand.¹ In 1618 Jahāngīr decided to substitute the figure of the zodiacal sign for the name of the month in which a coin was struck, and with his usual naïve conceit adds in his memoirs: “This usage is my own, and has never been practised until now.”² A further innovation was the issue of coins bearing the name of the empress Nūr Jahān, and various legends grew up that she was responsible for the beautiful zodiacal issue. The coinage of Nūr Jahān is, however, limited to only a few years, during which she was at the zenith of her power, and it was struck only at places where her adherents in the struggle for power were in authority.³ Jahāngīr had called his gold coins of the heavy standard *nūr-jahānī*, and this probably added to the confusion of thought.