Abbasids al-Mahdi AR Drachm, mint question... I was hoping someone could tell me some more info about this coin.... I am new to this area of numismatics..... I know it is from the time of al-Mahdi (775 - 785 AD ) the Caliph of Baghdad.... Was it struck there? I am not familiar with the mints used by the Abassids or their manner of marking coins..... I also notice on one side there are 5 dots in two rows on top of one another at the bottom, three dots in the top row, two dots in the row below..... does this have anything to do with the date? regnal year or something? I was told it was from AH 163.... I was also told it was in quite good condition. My coin knowledge kinda stops around the mid 4th century AD in the time of Constantine and his sons, then resumes around the late 16th century ... So any info on this specific coin and/or the coinage of the Abbasids would be enlightening and greatly appreciated, specifically where this coin was struck.
I am not good with these either. I have been meaning to get into them, just haven't yet. What I know is that this one is quite good condition, excellent in fact. I also know that the Caliphate had many mints. They inherited all of the mints of the Sassanids, and had others like Damascus. Therefor, its not a foregone conclusion this was made in Baghdad, since there were probably 20 mints or more striking these. Hopefully we have a couple of Islamic experts here. I would really encourage them to post, (correct me), and start some threads. I would love to learn more about this coinage. I have really been giving thought of starting a collection of Ghaznavids.
Yes I was reading of mints in Samarra and Damascus as well as Baghdad and elsewhere.... I just thought a Baghdad one would be the coolest to me, personally. Thanks for the info on the condition, I have not seen many so I do not have much info to base it's appearance on, I appreciate it medoraman. And yes, I am sure one of the fine folks around here will have some answers eventually, and it wouldn't surprise me if it is dougsmit either
Madinat al-Salaam (Baghdad) mint. Dated AH 163 (AD 779/80). The mint and date are in the marginal legend on the obverse: bismallah zuriba haza ed-dirhem bi-madinat al-Salaam fi sanat ihda wa sittin wa thelath
I know nothing about these and own exactly one similar coin which I believe is Harum al-rashid. I did know that the mint and date were contained in the encircling legend and suspect one could compare the legends of the OP coin and mine to find differences. Could you walk us through where to start looking for the mint name and where the number as well as provide a link to a list of possible or common mint names and the numbers (which I assume are here written in script rather than numerals?)?
Wonderful info Ardatirion!! I knew someone would know, thank you sir. I too would appreciate a walk through of where things are as dougsmit requested, since Ardatirion seems to know a great deal on the subject. I assume (correct me if I am wrong) the date or regnal year is the 5 characters at the top inside the circle, the ones that do not look like arabic....
Doug - your coin is also from the Madinat al-Salaam (Baghdad) mint, dated AH 185 (AD 801/2). Most of the Umayyad and 'Abbasid issues are anonymous and do not name the Caliph (although some do, and some also name the local governor). Yours is from the time of Harun al-Rashid Rexesq, yours is time of the caliph al-Mahdi. On the 'Abbasid issues, the date and mint information is in the marginal inscription on the obverse. These are quite easy to read, as they are always formulaic! The legend above translates to, "In the name of Allah, this dirhem was struck in Baghdad, year 163." The inscriptions are in the Kufic script - more modern Arabic scripts did not appear until the 11th century AD. What rexesq thought were "non-Arabic characters" is actually the beginning of the Shahada. I highly encourage everyone to pick up of Arabic Coins and How to Read Them by Richard Plant. It is not a catalog at all. Rather, it's a workbook to help train you to read enough numismatic Arabic to ID coins. (I can't read Arabic to save my life. But I CAN pick out mints, dates, and sometimes even rulers!)
Thaks for the info mate! I should pick up that book... I never had too much interest in coins of this area from this time period untill recently, I was interested mostly in more modern issues, I have a wonderful Iraqi Riyal (200 Fils) of 1932, given to my by an Englishman years ago who was living in the states and had been a professor of the Classics in New Jersey. He was born in 1910, and travelled all over the planet, he told me he got this large silver coin somewhere in Iraq (most likely Baghdad) while it was still currency and King Faisal I was still king! Pretty amazing I love that coin, in my link below I have an 'Indian, Arabic and Asian coin' gallery, it has some of my nicer coins from the areas ( including the 1932 Iraqi Riyal I spoke of ) .... but I have no coins of the type or time period as this Abbasid Dinar, so the help is much appreciated from all. The only Arabic I can read thoroughly is the more modern numerals heh, and a couple phrases, none very helpful, even though I spent time being trained in basic Arabic, most of the phrases learned were not helpful when applied in real life. Also you picked out the dates of mine and doug's coins, as well as the ruler of mine and the mints of both of our coins ... so that, my friend, is impressive.... especially from 1200 year old coins inscribed in Kufic script. I just assumed the larger letters to be the date due to how they were aranged on the overall coin, thanks again for the explaination about that.
It is an incredibly useful book and unlike any other I have found. Charlie Davis has a copy right now for $35. Steve Album should have a small supply of them as well. For $35, you can't go wrong! http://www.vcoins.com/ancient/charlesdavis/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=2886 Rexesq - have you gotten a copy of Prieur's book on the SSyro-Phoenician tetradrachms yet? You really need it!
Yeah, I am still trying to track down the Reverend's other title, Greek, Semitic, and Asiatic Coins. Too bad his updated draft got lost.
Thanks, I will have to check it out. From what I hear, its to all other languages like his Arabic title is to Arabic coins. He did an interview in the Celator a while ago. He never received a penny for this title. He also had updated it and gave it to a publisher, but the publisher disappeared. Edit: I just ordered it. I will let you know what its like when I get it.
