Political changes reflected in the coins of Sunargaon Mint: An Archaeo-metallurgical attempt to re-examine the history of 14th century Bengal (original) (raw)

2020, Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society

The relation between currency management and mint towns is closely related. One of the most interesting features of the Bengal Sultanate is the presence of various mint towns within its boundaries in time and space. Recent research has mentioned about 40 mint names inscribed on the sultanate coins of Bengal (M.R. Karim 2013: 322). More recently a researcher has listed 47 mint names on coins of the Bengal Sultanate (S.M.I. Alam 2015). Finding such a large number of mint names does not necessarily mean this number of mints actually existed. Bengal was not geographically large enough to justify such a large number of mint towns. The actual number has been estimated to be between 16 (Jahan 1953: 225) and 26 mints (Shahnawaz 1999: 37). In the sultanate period of Bengal, the day-today local need for silver or gold coins was very limited. Local people were comfortable with cowries to purchase their daily commodities (M. Alam 2014: 70). Silver or gold coins were used only for large transactions, internal and external trade, and for religious offering purposes. Although the demand for metal coins by the general inhabitants of Bengal during the sultanate period was limited, the volume of coins of that period, especially silver coins, found till today is immense. Hundreds and thousands of silver coins of the Bengal sultans are preserved in various museums around the world and in private collections, and still more continue to be unearthed from various locations in Bangladesh, West Bengal, Assam, and the Tripura region. The existence of various mint towns within Bengal appears to indicate the decentralised monetary policies of the Bengal sultans. In order to gain a clearer view of this, it is necessary to study the metallic composition of the coins issued by a single mint, from its first appearance to its last known issue. Without studying the coins of a mint thoroughly, it will not be possible to explore the metallic and technological characteristics of that mint. A thorough archaeo-metallurgical analysis of the coins of a mint that is geographically identified can also create an opportunity to judge the interrelations of metal flow, trade and political relations between the mint towns within the sultanate and with other kingdoms. An attempt has been made here to analyse the silver coins of Sunargaon mint as part of a series of metallurgical analyses of the silver coins of all the mints of the Bengal Sultanate. Silver coins were selected from their first appearance to the end of their production (on the basis of availability and date). In total, 22 coins of Sunargaon mint from a private collection have been analysed by WDXRF. On the basis of the silver percentages of the coins of each year, an attempt has been made to relate the reason for such percentages with contemporary political history, to find out possible sources of silver of that period, and also to make observations on the other elements found in our metallurgical analysis.