The first of these 2 items is a rare Byzantine coin having so much details and some Arabic legend on both obverse and reverse. It weighs 4.55 g. The second is kinda weight for measures weighing 8.5 g.
Very nice Arab-Byzantine coin. I just received a book on these - "Arab-Byzantine Coins from the Irbid Hoard" - Royal Numismatic Society Special Publication No. 53 (I ordered mine from Spink in the UK). The book does not limit itself to just the Irbid Hoard but has a great discussion of the current thinking on the Arab-Byzantine coins as a whole and lists the main types. It also has a die study of the "Pseudo-Damascus" mint - interesting to me as it lays out how the die linkages work and what you can conclude from that once you work it out. The Arab-Byzantine coinage is split into three main areas in the 1st chapter of the book: Pseudo-Byzantine for coins imitating the style of Byzantine coins but without any attempt to get meaningful legends and more importantly mint information on the coin; Umayyad Imperial coinage (which includes the OP coin above) where the style still imitates Byzantine coins but we now have a more or less legible legend (often a mixture of Greek and Arabic) and mint information; and finally Standing Caliph coinage which mostly abandons the Byzantine style and includes images of the Caliph with Arabic legends. Unfortunately I don't have a decent example of one of these yet but I'd be happy to get one as nice as the OP coin.
I recommend Arab-Byzantine Coins: An Introduction, with a Catalogue of the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (Dumbarton Oaks Byzantine Collection Publications) Paperback – March 30, 2009, by Clive Foss. It illustrates, with substantial discussion, 146 coins. The OP coin is the most common, "struck from at least 59 obverse and 63 reverse dies," coins 66-75.
I enjoy these Arab-Byzantine issues very much, and that is a lovely example! My earliest is dated to 661-680 (under Mu 'awiya): Hims (Emesa) mint, Obv. bismillah to left; K/A/Λ/O/H (= “good”) to right; Rev. Є/M/[H]-C/i/C across; tayyib (= “good”) in exergue. I also have one like yours: And here's my "standing caliph" issue, also issued under 'Abd al-Malik (685-705), Halab (Aleppo) mint:
Glad there is more interest in Byzantine and Byzantine-imitative coins. Aside from Walker's BMC catalog and a few research papers, I don't have either of those books. Been meaning to get Clive's book, but the other book seems interesting. I wish these books were ebooks instead of physical books. I need to save more space, too much stuff amassed... All the coins posted thus far are outstanding examples. Very nice desert patina with great legends. Kudos! Here are a few of mine. I have several others, but haven't had the chance to take pictures yet. Umayyad Caliphate, Arab-Byzantine: Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (685-705 CE) Æ Fals, Halab (Aleppo) Mint (Album-3529; SICA I, 615-625) Obv: Caliph standing facing, holding hilt of sword; لعبد الله عبد الملك اميرالمومنين (for the servant of God, 'Abd al-Malik, commander of the believers) in Arabic around Rev: Modified cross potent set on steps; بحلب (bi-halab) in Arabic upward to left, واف (wāf) in Arabic downward to right; لا اله الا الله و حده محمد رسول الله (There is no God but Allah alone, Muhammad is the apostle of Allah) in Arabic around Umayyad Caliphate, Arab-Byzantine: Anonymous (685-692 AD) Æ Fals, Hims (Emesa) Mint (SICA 1, 548; Album-3524; Walker-64) Obv: Bust of Emperor (Constans II?), facing, wearing a diadem surmounted by cross, paludamentum, and cuirass; in his right hand he holds a globus with cross; at left, Greek ΚΑΛΟΝ (Good); at right, downward, Arabic بحمص (Emesa) Rev: Large m; star between two wavy lines above; at left, EMI; at right, CHC; in exergue, Arabic طيب (Good) Umayyad Caliphate, Arab-Byzantine: Anonymous (ca. 680 AD) Æ Fals, Dimashq (Album 3517.3) Obv: Emperor standing and facing, in right hand a long cross and in left hand a globus cruciger, crescent on 'T' , Greek letters ΛЄO to right downwards, all enclosed by beaded circle Rev: جائز/ ضرب / دمشق, Capital M with monogram above and "officina" symbol (a downturned crescent) below, Arabic inscription to left downwards, Arabic inscription to right downwards, Arabic inscription in exergue (mint name), all enclosed by beaded circle
The following coin has a standing Caliph on the obverse where I can clearly read " The prince of believers Abdul Malik. The reverse has 3 steps as usual, and I think I can read Dimashk ( Damascus) to the right field of reverse. But it could also be Hims (Emesa), I'm not sure. I managed to have 1 shot and 2 scans due to the low condition. The coin weighs 4.33 g.
