Islamic coins are usually far in the left field for me, but when it comes to their interesting figural coinage, it's easy for me to make an exception. The figure on the obverse on my Zengids of Mosul dirhem is said to be the personification of the moon (Luna), but personally, I prefer the popular name for the type, the Watermelon Eater . I mean, look... The auction description had it as Mitchener 1129, Album 1870.2 - struck under Nasir al-Din Mahmud, dated AH 627. I don't have either reference, but my coin doesn't resemble any example of these that I've found online. It seems closer to what I see show up as S&S 63 (Izz al-Din Mas'ud), but I'm not sure that all the names on the reverse match up. I'm hoping one of the Islamic coin specialists out there will be able to help me out here. My pic above is true to how the coin looks, but the auction pic below shows the inscriptions better.
Fantastic coin, Z-Bro ... a total winner (moving forward, I will always see a dude eating a watermelon)
If you're going to foray into Eastern medieval oddities, a watermelon-eater is certainly a fun choice Artuqid coins are also tempting.
I find myself lost in a lot of Turkomen bronzes. The Sayles Spengler books are invaluable. Every type is listed and the iconography explained. If you are going to get into Turkomen bronzes much, I highly recommend these two books. I am not sure where I am in totality, but I must have 30+ different types of these. They really are fascinating.
Thanks. I think at some point I'll definitely be getting the Sayles & Spengler books, but I'm all bought-out right now, books and coin-wise.
that's a very cool coin Z! i love the style of the artquid, seljuk, zengid coins...i just wish my brain could sort them out properly.
