INDIA-Hyderabad 1/2 Ashrafi 1919 (1337/8) Mir Mahbub Ali Khan. NGC MS 62

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Certification details

Certification number: 8588016-007

Grade: MS 62

NGC collectible ID: 303752

Nominal value: 1/2ASH

Mint Mark: INDIA

Variety: HYDERABAD

Year: AH1337//8

1919, India, Hyderabad, Mir Mahbub Ali Khan. Gold 1/2 Ashrafi Coin. NGC MS-62!

Mint Year: 1919 (AH 1337/8)
Denomination: Gold 1/2 Ashrafi
Reference: Friedberg 1166, KM-56.
Mint Place: Haidarabad (Farkhanda Bunyad)
Condition: Certified and graded by NGC as MS-62!
Material: Gold (.910)
Weight: 5.589gm
Diameter: 21mm

Obverse: Charminar gateway with "Mim" symbol in doorway. Kufic inscription above, vertical legends at sides, Date (AH 1337) below.

Reverse: Inscribed central medallion, surrounded by decorative kufic inscriptions in arabic with mint name and regnal year.


Charminar meaning "Mosque of the Four Minarets" and "Four Towers" is the most famous mosque and monument in the city of Hyderabad, capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the 5th ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty built Charminar in 1591 shortly after he had shifted his capital from Golkonda to what is now known as Hyderabad. He built this famous structure to commemorate the elimination of a plague epidemic from this city. He is said to have prayed for the end of a plague that was ravaging his city and vowed to build a masjid (Islamic mosque) at the very place where he was praying. In 1591 while laying the foundation of Charminar, Quli Qutb shah prayed: "Oh Allah, bestow unto this city peace and prosperity. Let millions of men of all castes, creeds and religions make it their abode, like fish in the water." Charminar was given to a contractor by the name of Sanamvenkata Balaya to construct it and today one can see the city as evidence of the prayer being answered. The Mosque became popularly known as Charminar because of its four (Persian/Hindi char = four) minarets (Minar (Arabic manara) = spire/tower).

The structure is made of granite, lime, mortar and, some say, pulverised marble, was at one time the heart of the city. Initially the monument with its four arches was so proportionately planned that when the fort was opened one could catch a glimpse of the bustling Hyderabad city as these Charminar arches were facing the most active royal ancestral streets. There is also a legend of an underground tunnel connecting the palace at Golkonda to Charminar, possibly intended as an escape route for the Qutub Shahi rulers in case of a siege, though the exact location of the tunnel is unknown.





Sir Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqi GCSI, GBE Asaf Jah VII , born Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqi Bahadur (April 6, 1886 – February 24, 1967), was the last Nizam (or ruler) of the Princely State of Hyderabad and of Berar. He ruled Hyderabad between 1911 and 1948, until it was merged into India. He was styled His Exalted Highness The Nizam of Hyderabad.

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