History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c8.88

c8.88

But the most remarkable experiment of Muhammad Tughluq, which has been little understood and much condemned, was the introduction of a token currency in 730 A.H. Barani gives no date, but places it in point of time after the transfer of the capital to Devagiri which took place in 726-27 A.H. and no token coins are available bearing the dates 726, 727, 728 and 729. During these years the Sultan had scarcely time to embark upon such a novel experiment, for he was busy with the transfer of the capital and the rebellion of Kishlū Khan in Multan. The author of the Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi gives no date, and follows Barani in placing the experiment after the transfer of the capital. The dates 727, and 734 A.H. given by Firishta and Ḥājjī-ad-Dabīr respectively are incorrect. The first token coin in Nelson Wright's Catalogue of Coins in the Indian Museum of Calcutta (II, p. 59) is dated 730 A.H. under the head 'forced currency,' and no other coin, bearing an earlier date, has yet been brought to light by any numismatist. The token currency was certainly not in vogue, when Ibn Batūṭah came to India in 1333 A.D., and his silence is indicative of the fact that its circulation extended over a very brief period. By the time Ibn Batūṭah reached Dihli, it appears, the people had ceased to talk about this innovation, and its mischievous effects had been completely repaired. From Thomas' collections it is clear that the experiment was tried after the transfer of the capital, for there are coins issued from Daulatabad bearing the date 730 A.H.⁴⁵ Numismatic evidence further establishes the fact that the token currency lasted only for a brief period, i.e., during the years 730—33 A.H.⁴⁶ By the year 734 A.H. the currency was restored to its old level, as is proved by a coin of unalloyed silver issued from the Dihli mint, which contains 168 grains of silver, the average metallic weight of the genuine *tankah*.⁴⁷