Pul "Sun-face type" - Toqta, with tamgha of Noghay Solkhat ND
| Copper | 1 g | - |
| Issuer | Golden Horde |
|---|---|
| Khan | Toqta (1291-1312) |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Years | 1289-1312 |
| Value | 1 Pul (1⁄16) |
| Currency | Dinar (1227-1502) |
| Composition | Copper |
| Weight | 1 g |
| Shape | Round (irregular) |
| Technique | Hammered |
| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
| Demonetized | Yes |
| Updated | 2024-10-06 |
| Numista | N#301389 |
|---|---|
| Rarity index | 90% |
Reverse
At the center a complex tamga, consisting of the tamga of the Batu family in several variants of the image and the tamga of the Noghay. To the left of tamgha “Solkhat”; to the right “minted”. Variants with Qrim instead of Solkhat exist
Comment
Variants according to Lebedev:
More variants may be found in the article by by Konstantin Khromov "Some notes on the Golden Horde numismatics of Crimea (Coins of Solkhat)" // N&F 1999.4. P.31 – 32 (see English version in pdf below Russian).
Brief info from this article:
"Solkhat" is one of the names of the Qrim city (modern - Old Qrim). For a long time from the second half of the 13th Century until the disintegration of the Golden Horde in the 15th Century, the Qrim city was an administrative and commercial centre of the Crimean Ulus. According to modern numismatic data, the city had the following names: Qrim, Qrim al-Jadid (New Qrim), and Solkhat.
According to the chronicles the city was named Qrim, Solkhat, and Surgat. These names appear in many legal and trade documents of the 13th-14th Centuries, and also in other written sources (Turkish, Tartar, Armenian, Venetian and Genoa).
Researchers of the history of the Golden Horde of Crimea attempted to explain the varriations in the city's names. The most plaisable version is the one that relates the different names of the city to different ethnic groups of its population. The main argument of the supporters of this version is the following fact: The medieval Tartar documents mention only the name of "Qrim"; Genoa and others European ones mention only "Solkhat". So, some of the researchers attribut this coin to Genoese mintage (Genoese emporium of Qrim under full Juchid sovereignty). See a discussion here.
Interesting fact
The interesting fact about this coin is that it features a unique "Sun-face" design on one side, which is a distinctive feature of the Pul coinage of the Golden Horde. The Sun-face type was introduced during the reign of Toqta (1289-1312) and was used until the end of the Golden Horde in the 14th century. This design is believed to have been inspired by the Mongolian mythology and symbolizes the power and radiance of the ruling Khan.
