Monday, 25th June 2007 (1202 views)

A stockbroker is to donate a collection of gold heritage coins to the University of Mumbai, it has been revealed.

The Times of India reports that a gold coin minted by Emperor Shah Jahan weighing 1.1 kilogrammes, in addition to 25,000 other coins, have been donated to the university by Mumbai stock broker Dinesh Mody.

It claims that the coins will be used for the educational facility's new master's degree in numismatics and archaeology.

The Shah Jahan coin dates back to the era between 1628 and 1658 and reportedly the solid gold item was issued to placate the Khalifa, who warned Shah Jahan to cease engraving coins with the images of birds and animals, the newspaper reports.

"[Shah Jahan] did not eat for a day and then one of his advisors came up with a solution, which was to mint a large coin from pure gold and call it Shahenshah," Dilip Rajgor, a scholar and the author of several books on numismatics told the newspaper.

According to the Encyclopaedia of World Biography on Shah Jahan, the emperor sat on the Peacock Throne which was made of precious metals and jewels and was supported by four legs of solid gold.

 

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