Figures do vary considerably in shape for example 5, and occasionally tip to the right like for example 6 and 7.

Arabic is written and read from right to left from bottom to top of page.

sikkah zad dar jehan cho bedr monir minted coin in world like shining full moon
Shar Aurangzeb Alamgir Ruler throne-adorner universe-grasper
Surat Bandar-i-mubarak
Epithet of Surat, Blessed port.
sanat julus maimanat manus
The year of the accession associated with prosperity.

The Transcript and Translation of the Arabic on the 1701 Surat Rupee treasure coin from the Great Basses Reef, Lanka is as follows.

Obverse

	Arabic	transcript	traslation
		gir-Alam	grasper-universe
		1113	1113
		kzib-Aurang	adorner-throne
		Shar	ruler
		monir bedr cho zad	shining moon-full like minted
		sikkah	coin
		jehan dar	world in

Reverse

	Arabic	transcript	traslation
		manus	associated-with
		maimanat	prosperity
		Four dots around Cross        46	Mint Mark        46
		julus sanat	regnal year
		zuriba	struck-at
		Surat	Surat

Descended from Jenghiz Khan, Akbar the Great reigned from 1556 A.D., when he was thirteen. During this time he conquered large part of India, and by his wise toleration he built a lasting Empire despite all the diversities of race and religion. Following him as Moghul Emperors was his son Jehangir in 1605 A.D and grandson Shar Jahan in 1628 A.D. who built the Taj Mahal mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. In 1659 A.D. (1069 A.H.) his son Shar Aurangzib 'Alamgir (``throne-adorner, universe-grasper'') ascended to the throne. In this reign the Moghul Empire reached its greatest territorial extent. At the age of almost ninety, when Aurangzib died in 1707 A.D. (1118 A.H.) religious intoleration had undermined Akbar's policy for unity and the Empire disintigrated in a short time.

Aurangzib used 47 different mints and introduced a new style of coin, which lasted throuh end of Moghul Period. The horizontals on the obverse of the coin are formed, the upper one by Shar (as is usual) and the lower by sikkah As long as all the wirds got on the coin they were not too concerned about the order of the words in the couplet.

During the 48 year rule of Aurangzib the Surat Mint alone issued over 85 varieties rupee coins listed in Brown's Catalog of coins in the Lucknow Museum. Since Anno Hegirea (A.H.) doesn't change at the same time as the regnal year, most years have two varieties. The order of rows and the location of the A.H. date change a few times over this period. The Ahad (first) regional year issue (1070 A.H.) (#2874) has the Surat Mint epitat is listed in krause as KM#300.85, the rest without epitat as KM#300.86. On the reverse Surat was written at the bottom line in #2879, and the last two lines are switched with zuriba (struck-at) at the bottom line in #2884 of 1073 A.H. The reginal year is written over the location of which moves from the topline to the third in reginal year 22 and the last two lines switched back in #2910 of 1089 A.H. On obverse the year in A.H is in . From 1096 A.H. of reginal year 28 (#2933) a series of eleven Mint ornaments are used on reverse. Two types of such Mint marks appear on 1113/46. Brown's #193 (cross around central circle with 4 filled dots in the quadrents) is used on (#2985) the A.H. 1113 of reginal year 46 of the greatbases wreck coin.

Comments: E-mail Kavan U. Ratnatunga