Hyderabad emerged as the Deccan’s centralised minting centre under the Nizams, says historian

Delivering a lecture on ‘Deccan Coinage and Mints’ at the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad on Saturday, November 14, Professor Danish Moin traced the evolution of coinage in the Deccan from the 14th to the 19th century.

Hyderabad emerged as a centralised centre for coin production during the later Asaf Jahi period, with coins increasingly being minted in the city and dispatched to other parts of the State, reflecting a shift in the organisation of currency production under the Nizams, said Professor Danish Moin.

Delivering a lecture on ‘Deccan Coinage and Mints’ at the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad on Saturday (November 14, 2026), Professor Moin traced the evolution of coinage in the Deccan from the 14th to the 19th century, examining how different dynasties used coins to communicate political authority, religious beliefs and economic information. He discussed the coinage traditions of the Vijayanagara Empire, Bahmani dynasty, Deccan Sultanates, Mughals and Asaf Jahi rulers, highlighting how the inscriptions, denominations, designs and minting techniques changed over time.

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Explaining the emergence of Hyderabad as a major minting centre, he said that coin production during the earlier period was spread across several cities, with different dynasties operating their own mints. The Qutb Shahi rulers issued coins from Golconda and Hyderabad. Professor Moin pointed out that the identification of mints was particularly important in understanding the geographical spread of a dynasty’s authority. During the Mughal period, several mints operated across the Deccan, including Ahmadnagar, Aurangabad, Berar, Daulatabad, Deogiri, Golconda, Gulbarga and Hyderabad.

The Asaf Jahi rulers initially continued the existing pattern of coinage, with coins issued in the names of Mughal emperors for several decades. Gradually, these references were replaced by coins carrying the title ‘Asaf Jah Nizam-ul-Mulk Bahadur’, originally conferred on the founder of the dynasty by the Mughal emperor and subsequently retained by his successors, he added.

Professor Moin said that Aurangabad and Daulatabad were among the important centres during the earlier phase of Asaf Jahi coinage. In the later period, coin production increasingly became concentrated in Hyderabad. He compared this arrangement with the centralised production and distribution of currency, explaining that large quantities of coins could be produced at one location and circulated elsewhere.

Another major development during the Asaf Jahi period was the introduction of machine-struck coinage. Professor Moin said that while the British were the first to develop mechanised coin production in India, Hyderabad also adopted the technology. He credited the sixth Nizam, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan with introducing the machine-striking technique in Hyderabad, marking a significant change from the earlier practice of manually producing coins.

The adoption of mechanised production also brought changes in the appearance and standardisation of currency. Professor Moin discussed how the denominations began to be explicitly represented on coins. This was a departure from the earlier practice, when people identified the value of coins largely through their appearance and inscriptions, he said.

He also referred to coins bearing the Charminar motif, describing them as an important part of the evolution of Asaf Jahi coinage. The increasing importance given to denominations on coins coincided with a similar development in British Indian currency, where descriptions and values were also being explicitly represented.

Discussing the evolution of Deccan coinage, Professor Moin said that two major traditions shaped medieval Indian currency. The Vijayanagara Empire continued the ancient Indian tradition, in which coins predominantly carried pictorial representations of gods, goddesses, animals, trees and other symbols. The Bahmani dynasty and subsequent Deccan Sultanates, including the Adil Shahi, Barid Shahi, Imad Shahi and Nizam Shahi dynasties, followed the Islamic tradition of coinage, which placed greater importance on inscriptions.

He broadly classified the information conveyed through medieval coins into two categories: religious and secular. Religious references included the Kalima, names of caliphs, Quranic verses and titles projecting rulers as champions of Islam. Secular information included the ruler’s name, titles, mint of issue and date.

Hyderabad / Telangana / history / history and culture