Silver damma of Shibl, Multan, c.840-860s, Ummayad or Abbasid governors of Multan, among the first Islamic coins in India!

Three dots, stylized Brahmi "Sri" above, Brahmi letters "Ta" and "Pa" in fields, below Lillah Shibl in arabic / Nagari legend SriJaYan / TaRaJa ("Victorious King"). 14.5mmx11.5mm, 0.60 grams. Fishman/Todd "The Silver Damma" M56.1 (early type, rare).

This particular coin is shown in "The Silver Damma" catalogue (#M56.1). It is the nicest of the 8 listed coins of this type.

These coins are derived from the earlier "Sri Tapana" pre-Islamic Multan coins - as the Arab conquered Sindh and parts of Punjab (including Multan) in the early 700s, the continued minting old-style coins, slowing adding Arabic or Islamic elements to the coinage. The coins are fascinating, as some of them give a native Hindu name along with the Arabic name of the ruler - sometimes these Hindu names are derived from the names of various Hindu gods, which is a fascinating evidence of the cosmopolitan nature of the 9th and 10th century Multani society. These "3-dot" coins are the earliest Islamic Indian coins - they were first studied and published only a few years ago, in the Fishman/Todd's catalogue "The Silver Damma".