Afsharid Silver Coin, Tiflis Mint, 1152 AH / 1739 CE

A hammered silver coin struck at the mint of Tiflis, modern Tbilisi, Georgia, in the year 1152 AH (1739 CE). It was issued under Nadir Shah of the Afsharid dynasty, and stands as a small, durable record of Persian authority in the Caucasus during the eighteenth century.

The obverse carries a central circular cartouche bearing the ruler's name and title: نادر السلطان (Nadir al-Sultan), "Nadir the Sultan." The reverse gives the mint, the date, and the customary pious formula, خلد الله ملكه تفليس (Khallada Allah Mulkahu Tiflis), "May God perpetuate His kingdom [at] Tiflis", with the date rendered ١١٥٢.

Silver of approximately .900 purity, weighing about 6.8 grams and measuring roughly 19 mm across.