Coins that carry a curse

ARTUQIDS OF MARDIN: Il-Ghazi II, 1176-1184, AE dirham (13.88g), NM, AH57x. Large & small draped busts facing, VF-EF.


The bottom three lines of the reverse text are "hadha al-dirham mal'un man yu'ayyaruhu, "cursed is he who abuses this dirham."

The Artuqids were a Turkic Dynasty that ruled Eastern Anatolia, Northern Syria and Northern Iraq during the 11th and 12th century.

A very interesting coin as being the first in my experience which explicitly carried a curse for people who abuses the coin. Whilst a warning of death for counterfeiting is known to exist, this coin appeals to the spiritual/religious sentiments of the people instead in the form of a curse. Abuse in this case is expected to be damage, counterfeiting or like activities which may devalue the coin. The image of this coin and also other coins of the region snd period is also interesting as Islamic decree prohibits the display of figures of semblance of idolatry since the reforms of al-Malik centuries ago.

So far I better be treating this coin with respect lest the curse falls on me otherwise

 

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All I could find...

 

Cool!! I read about such Roman lead curses before. They can also be due to petty disputes as well and can be quiet explicit and creative.

 

I really like that latest pick up @Loong Siew ! Any idea who is featured on the obverse? I'm assuming the large one is Il-Ghazi II.

 

I never heard of this before. Must have been someone with plenty of money to afford that curse.

 

Thanks @Jwt708 .. Actually the image has multiple interpretations. Some say Heraclius and his son. Others say it is Helios (Apollo) and Mercury. This coincides with an astrological event which took place in 576 AH = 1180/1 AD, when the planet Mercury passed the face of the Sun. The latter would be even more fantastic given the Muslims forbid depictions of other gods or idolatry except for Allah

 

Not a coin, but... Headpiece to the Staff of Ra...


The instructions written on the headpiece stated that the staff should be "six kadams high." (obverse)

"Take back one kadam to honor the Hebrew God, whose Ark this is." (reverse)

There was also a curse against touching the ark, hence Indy and Salleh used wooden poles to pick it up...

 

Haha.. you don't mean this was an actual headpiece and not a prop from Raiders of the Lost Ark?

 

Naah, it's a fictional prop. Maybe something you can buy in a suq of Cairo.

 

The mummies curse. lol just kidding...

 

Haha.. good one.. Especially the "Ark" part..lol

 

I can't remember the name of a 13 part black and white serial that involved cursed coins. Whoever had all the coins (7 I think) in his possession had great power. Edit-"The Black Coin" 1936.

 

This doesn’t seem like a curse,more likely just concealment. A solidus is a pretty pricey hex. Unless there is epigraphy to support the curse...

Pretty cool find though!

 

The hex is probably on the lead foil.

 

Loong Siew, That is a fascinating coin with a nice clear inscription . So many of the coins made by the Artuqids were stylistically inspired by Byzantine, Roman & Greek coins. The obverse of your coin looks like it was inspired by the Byzantine gold solidus of Heraclius & his son Heraclius Constantine, circa AD 613-6, see photo below. However, the Artuqids went one step further by cutting the die with a three dimensional image. I dare you to drop your coin !

 

Haha.. Thanks @Al Kowsky .. I read that the Artuqids were accomplished metalsmiths and many of their craft outside of coinage were in high regard among the Islamic states. I wouldn't dare risking dropping the coin in any way and happy enough to appreciate it behind plastic.. haha..

Nonetheless it is quiet interesting to note that they were pretty progressive for medieval Muslims as images invoking semblances of idolatry is highly discouraged if not outright prohibited. Have not seen such depictions ever since the pre-reform coinage of the Ummayads centuries earlier.

 

Given the proscriptions against "graven images" in the Qu'ran and the hadith it is pretty surprising, but cool.

 

Will this work on the IRS?

 

Haha.. good idea..blessings to us all..