Economic Strength of Astarabad during the reign of Naser al-din Shah Qajar (1848-1896): Elemental Analysis of Naseri Silver Qirans Multiplied in Astarabad using PIXE Method

During the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, there were multiple versions of silver Qirans. A version was struck in the northeast region of Astarabad. Although all versions nominally followed that of Tehran, as each city had an autonomous military system, in practice coins of most regions were struck with different amounts of silver purity. This article tends to gauge the economic power of Astarabad and compared it with other regions including Mashhad, Tabriz, Isfahan, and Shiraz, by measuring the silver purity of its coins.

Elemental analysis of coins of this period using the PIXE method was the main basis of this research and 22 coins on 22 different dates were elementally analyzed.Finding and

Changes in the purity of silver on average in periods between 1849-1857 AH. 90.10%, 1860-1871 AH. 86.56%, 1873-1876 AH. 84.20%. Overall, throughout the three periods, it multiplied by 87.42%. This explains the position of Astarabad coins to those of Mashhad (84%), Tabriz (82%), Tehran (90%), Isfahan (84%), And Shiraz (90%). This research showed how to change the grade of coins with copper and iron metals, and the type of silver mines used, namely Cerussite mines.