A CATALOG OF MODERN Coins of Afghanistan
Series IV: Habibullah Kalakani
By: Hakim Hamidi & Masoud Hamidi Second Edition
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C o p y r i g h t © 2 0 1 2 , P e r s i c G a l l e r y, I n c . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . P e r s i c G a l l e r y P. O . B o x 1 3 0 3 7 2 - B o s t o n - M A 0 2 11 3 • w w w. p e r s i c g a l l e r y. c o m
Table of Contents Habibullah Kalakani
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Gold Coins
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Silver Coins
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Copper, Brass and Bronze Coins
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C o p y r i g h t Š 2 0 1 2 , P e r s i c G a l l e r y, I n c . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . P e r s i c G a l l e r y - P. O . B o x 1 3 0 3 7 2 - B o s t o n - M A 0 2 11 3 • w w w. p e r s i c g a l l e r y. c o m
Habibullah Kalakani
Habibullah Kalakani 1347-1348 / 1929
The man who seized Kabul from the faltering hands of Amanullah Khan was a Tajik tribesman from Kala Khan (a village about 30 kilometers north of Kabul). The new Afghan ruler called himself Habibullah Khan, but he was called by others Bacha-i Saqqao (Son of the Water Carrier). A deserter from the Afghan army, he had worked in Peshawar as a tea seller and then served 11 months in prison for housebreaking. He had participated in the Khost rebellion of 1924 and then had become a highwayman. Although Bacha-i Saqqao robbed Afghan officials and the wealthy, he was generous to the poor. His attack on Kabul was shrewdly timed, following the Shinwari Rebellion and the defection of much of the army. Little is written of his nine-month reign, but most historians agree that he could not have held power for very long under any condition. None of the powerful Pashtun tribeseven the Ghilzai, who in the beginning had supported him against Amanullah Khan would long tolerate rule by a non-Pashtun. When Amanullah's last feeble effort to regain his throne failed, the clearest contenders for the throne were the Musahiban brothers, who were also Muhammadzai Barakzai and whose great-grandfather was an older brother of the great nineteenth-century ruler, Dost Mohammad. There were five prominent Musabihan brothers. Nadir Khan, the eldest, had been Amanullah's minister of war until he left office in dissent over Amanullah's military and domestic reforms. Although it has generally been believed that the British had a hand in the overthrow of Amanullah and in the accession to power of Nadir, such scholars as Louis Dupree, FraserTytler, and Poullada concur that the British did not bring down Amanullah and that while the British hoped that the Musahiban brothers would establish control, they tried to maintain some degree of neutrality in the contest. FraserTytler derides the rules established by the British for dealing with this situation as "a mixture of the rules of cricket and football." The brothers were permitted to cross through the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) to go into Afghanistan to take up arms. Once on the other side, however, they were not to be permitted to go back and forth across the border to use British territory as sanctuary, nor were they allowed to gather a tribal army on the British side of the Durand Line. The restrictions were successfully ignored by the Musahiban brothers and the tribes. After being thrown back several times, Nadir and his brothers finally raised a sufficiently large force (mostly from the British side of the Durand Line) and took Kabul on October 10, 1929. Six days later the eldest of the Musahiban brothers was proclaimed King Nadir Shah. The Tajik Habibullah fled Kabul, was captured in Kohistan, and was executed on November 3, 1929, despite promises of reprieve.
C o p y r i g h t Š 2 0 1 2 , P e r s i c G a l l e r y, I n c . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . P e r s i c G a l l e r y - P. O . B o x 1 3 0 3 7 2 - B o s t o n - M A 0 2 11 3 • w w w. p e r s i c g a l l e r y. c o m
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Habibullah Kalakani Gold Coins
H48a: 1 Habibi Obv-! Value “see Rupya” (30 Rupees) at top. Legend: “Habibullah Khademi-Deen-Allah” in center. Date below “Khadem”. Rev- “Yak Habibi” above. Mihrab and Monber in circular sun rays in center. Wheat wreath around. !
HQ1347, 4.6gm, 21mm. KM-899
H48b: 1 Habibi Obv-! Small star at top. Legend: “Habibullah KhademiDeen-Allah” in center. Date below “Khadem”. Rev-! ”Yak Habibi” above. Mihrab and Monber in circular sun rays in center. Wheat wreath around. !
HQ1347, 4.6gm, 21mm. KM-899.1
C o p y r i g h t © 2 0 1 2 , P e r s i c G a l l e r y, I n c . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . P e r s i c G a l l e r y - P. O . B o x 1 3 0 3 7 2 - B o s t o n - M A 0 2 11 3 • w w w. p e r s i c g a l l e r y. c o m
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Habibullah Kalakani Silver Coins
H50a: AR 1 Qiran Obv-! Star at top. Legend: “Habibullah Khademi-DeenAllah” in center. Date below “Khadem”. H49a: AR 1 Rupee Rev-! “Yak Qiran” above. Mihrab and Monber in circular Obv-! Star at top. Date and legend in center in circular
sun rays in center. Wheat wreath around.
form. “Khadem-Deen- Rasool -Allah”. !
HQ1348, 4.5gm, 21.5mm. KM-902
Rev-! “One rupee” value at top. Mosque in a circular sunburst in center. Wheat and wreaths around. !
HQ1347, 9.2gm, 26mm. KM-898
H50b: AR 1 Qiran Obv-! Small star at top. Legend: “Habibullah KhademiDeen-Allah” in center. Date below “Khadem”. Rev-! “Yak Qiran” above. Mihrab and Monber in circular
H49b: AR 1 Rupee
sun rays in center. Wheat wreath around.
Obv-! Star at top. Date and legend in center in horizontal !
form. “Khadem-Deen- Rasool Allah”.
HQ1347, 4.5gm, 21.5mm. KM-896
Rev-! “One rupee” value at top. Mosque in a circular sunburst in center. Wheat and wreaths around. !
HQ1347, 9.2gm, 26mm. KM-897
C o p y r i g h t © 2 0 1 2 , P e r s i c G a l l e r y, I n c . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . P e r s i c G a l l e r y - P. O . B o x 1 3 0 3 7 2 - B o s t o n - M A 0 2 11 3 • w w w. p e r s i c g a l l e r y. c o m
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Habibullah Kalakani Copper, Brass and Bronze Coins
H52a: AE 10 Paisa Obv-! Value “Las Pasisa” in Pashto above. Circular legend in center, date below legend. Wheat wreaths H51a: AE 20 Paisa
around.
Obv-! Value in Pashto “Shil Pasisa” at top. Legend in cen-
Rev-! Value 10 paisa above. Mosque in center within cir-
ter, date below legend. Wheat wreaths around.
cular sunburst.
Rev-! Value 20 paisa above. Mosque in center within cir-
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HQ1348, 4.1gm, 23mm. K-901.1
cular sunburst. !
HQ1347, 5.7gm, 24.5mm. KM-895.1
H52b: AE 10 Paisa Obv-! Value “Las Pasisa” in Pashto above. Circular legend in center, date below legend. Wheat wreaths
H51b: 3 Shades of Brass 20 Paisa
around. Obv-! Value “Shil Pasisa” in Pashto above. Legend in cenRev-! Value 10 paisa above. Mosque in center within cir-
ter, date below legend. Wheat wreaths around.
cular sunburst. Different shade of copper. Rev-! Value 20 paisa above. Mosque in center within cir!
cular sunburst. !
HQ1347, 4.1gm, 23mm. KM-901.2
HQ1347, 5.7gm, 24.5mm. KM-895.2.
C o p y r i g h t © 2 0 1 2 , P e r s i c G a l l e r y, I n c . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . P e r s i c G a l l e r y - P. O . B o x 1 3 0 3 7 2 - B o s t o n - M A 0 2 11 3 • w w w. p e r s i c g a l l e r y. c o m
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