History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c8.157

c8.157

Besides, there is another evidence of the scarcity of silver which it is impossible to reject. During the subsequent reigns silver becomes more and more scarce so that not more than three silver coins of Firuz have come to light and Thomas mentions only two silver pieces of Muhammad bin Firuz, one of Mubarak Shah, one of Muhammad bin Farīd and none of ‘Ālam Shah, and his successors of the Lodi dynasty.⁷⁵ In Nelson Wright’s Catalogue of the coins in the Indian Museum of Calcutta only two silver pieces are mentioned, one of Muhammad Shah IV and the other of Mahmūd Shah II during a period of nearly two centuries.⁷⁶ In Rogers’ Catalogue also there are no coins of silver after the death of Muhammad Tughluq except one of Muhammad Tughluq II (1389—92).⁷⁷ From an examination of the coins it is apparent that there was an increasing tendency on the part of the rulers of Dihli to issue billion coins. Under Firuz the gold coins continue, but he issues billion coins of 144 grains in large quantities to meet the ordinary purposes. This practice was continued by his successors so that coins of pure silver became more and more scarce as time passed. The available coins of the Sayyids and Lodis with two exceptions⁷⁸ consist entirely of gold, billion and copper—a fact which clearly establishes the shortage of silver—and it is not until the middle of the sixteenth century that we come across a large number of silver coins issued from the mints of Sher Shah Suri and his successors.⁷⁹