Classical Numismatic Group > Islamic Auction 5Auction date: 18 April 2024
Lot number: 18

Price realized: Unsold
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Lot description:


Umayyad Caliphate, Silver coinage. AR Dirham (28mm, 2.18 g, 10h). Arminiya mint. Dated AH 81 (AD 700/01). Obverse: In border: annulets o o o o o; in margin: mint-name written Armiya (i.e. lacking one 'tooth' before the ta marbuta) / Reverse: In border: annulets o o o o, with unread word at 2h. Klat 46.a; al-'Ajlan -. Edge chipped. Near VF, stained and with cleaning marks. Extremely rare.

Umayyad dirhams are remarkable for the almost complete uniformity of their legends, which remain standard throughout the coinage. It is exceptional for an Umayyad dirham to feature so much as an additional letter in the reverse field, let alone an additional word in the outer border as on the present. Apart from this type, the only comparable example is the unique coin struck at Adharbayjan in AH 78 (Klat 23.a) which repeats the mint-name in the border on the obverse.

Klat did not suggest a reading of the mysterious word in the reverse border, and it is not clear whether this is in fact Arabic or Pahlawi.

Estimate: 750 USD