Allah within a pointed quatrefoil with flowery decorations protruding from each corner, Malik ("King") in each section // Al-Urdu al-Azam ("The great military camp"), mint (Kuja) and date (662 AH = 1262/3 CE) written around, within a double border. 20mm, 2.28 grams. Al-Urdu al-Azam Kuja (Kucha) mint, dated to 1262/3 (perhaps a frozen date). cf. Zeno 221370; A-1984X; SNAT XVb #70.

Very rare coin, especially in high grade. Anonymous, dated to the reign of Kublai Khan

Kucha was part of the Chagatai Khanate’s western territories, and early in the civil war between Kubai and Ariq Böke the Chagatai Khan Alghu (who was installed by Ariq Böke in 1260) supported Ariq Böke. By 1262, Alghu broke with Ariq Böke and aligned with Kublai, acknowledging him as the Supreme Khan. These coins (based on their date) are perhaps linked to these event and were minted to finance Alghu's military campaigns in support of Kublai.

Kublai Khan (1215–1294), a grandson of Genghis Khan, was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and founder of China’s Yuan dynasty. Consolidating control over northern China, he completed the conquest of the Song dynasty in 1279, uniting the country under Mongol rule. Kublai moved the capital to Khanbaliq (modern Beijing) and embraced many aspects of Chinese governance, promoting trade, infrastructure, and cultural exchange across his vast empire. His reign saw prosperity and cosmopolitanism, but also costly wars in Southeast Asia and failed invasions of Japan. By his death in 1294, the Mongol Empire was increasingly fragmented, but his Yuan dynasty endured in China for nearly a century.