Ancient Nadir Shaw PERSIAN tiny coin help

happytypingirl

Hello,
This little coin is a family heirloom. I would like more info about it and the value ball park . Been in the family for over 100 years.
Have a little info about it as you see in the pictures. You can see the pics here: http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/kk115/happytypingirl/persian coin/

Any info would be great!
Thanks Stacey aka happytypingirl

spoon

That is very neat! I always like seeing old handwritten holders like that

But I think that looks more like a south Indian coin (which may well have passed around in south coastal Iran (Bushire) when the original collector set this aside). I'll have to look into it more later. Can you take pictures showing more detail of the coin itself? (Try the macro setting if you're having trouble zooming in) I couldn't make out any writing on it in those pics, though the note in blue mentions a chronogram.

And welcome to the forum!

happytypingirl

Thank you for the welcome If you double click the photo's they will be larger or I can email you them . Stacey
bernethy722@verizon.net

spoon

Hi Stacey, I took another look at this - and I see you've added more pics, and think this is definitely an Indian coin, not Persian.

Problem is, I'm not sure what! There are just a ton of coins from India and a quick scan of the Krause SCWC catalog didn't help, though a lot of coppers aren't illustrated. But the official Persian coins from the time that this is attributed to all have farsi writing on them and nothing else (islamic coinage often shunned figures, human or animal, as they are often regarded as idols). There are some provincial coins that use designs, but not like this. I know I've seen coins like this before but just can't remember exactly what it was. There are small gold fanams that have nearly identical designs to this, but I can't find a reference to the copper types right now. It is possible that the coin holder was reused.. that pic with the holder in it shows a diagonal crease where the edge may have folded over the coin originally contained, the size of which appears more in line with the coin described. So I think that's what happened here.

If it is an Indian coin as I believe, it is likely not worth a whole lot, especially with the design being so off center. But if you may still have the original Persian coin, that could be worth a bit more, and the handwritten holder can add slightly more value.

What makes it all the more interesting and valuable though is the family connection. If the coins were mixed up it sounds like you might have a collector in your past, not just a casual souvenir hunter. I'd say it's worth keeping for that alone