I recently bought this Moroccan 1 Falus (low cost) and saw that the year was AH 1246 which is 1831, I believe. When I look it up in Krause (C# 122.1), it says the date is rare but then again the entire coin looks messed with. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. It's 5.5 grams and 20mm in diameter.
That coin looks tooled. The color is all wrong. Looks cleaned and or sanded down. I would stay away from it. Wait for other opinions...
Thanks for responding. On color, my over-lighting is probably to blame. It's alot darker in person. I think this is my first (and only hopefully) tooled coin. So, ok, I learned a little more Moroccan history in researching it, not all bad news.
Those are date ranges, too. One can’t pinpoint it at 1831. It doesn’t really matter, of course, but I’m just saying.
How much did you pay for it ? Down the road I want 1 of these coins for my "Coins with Stars" topical/themed collection.
Can you check that weight again? It should weigh 3.5 g, not 5.5. If it does weigh 5.5, it is not a falus. These coins were very crudely made, and the planchets are often quite barbaric. It looks to me that the casting wasn't perfect on this coin - I don't think it was tooled (If it was tooled instead of a flawed planchet, I would expect to see a different effect over the date). Assuming the weight is correct, I don't see any problems with this coin at all. I think you got a great deal for $10. And yes, AH1246 corresponds to 1830-1831. It is not exactly a match because the Islamic calendar is lunar - the first day of their year does not exactly match ours.
Thank you for responding. I checked the weight a few times and made sure the scale was tared. It's 5.5g. I read in the description of Moroccan coins in the Krause 1800-1900 book that the weights can vary widely: "All weights indicated in the following listings of bronze, silver and gold coins are standard weights; actual weights of coins found can differ considerably". This one is cast bronze I believe. Does considerably=65% more? What denomination could it be if it's not 1 Falus? (and it is 20mm in diameter)
Yes, the weights can vary. I went and checked the reference to see how much, because nothing I could see would line up with 5.5g. That is towards the high end of the range given in Eustache's "Corpus du Monnaies Alawaites," but it is consistent with several examples listed. He also describes 2 varieties for 1246, one with a single line above and below, and one with double lines. In my opinion, then, you have an authentic (if somewhat overweight) falus.
I won't take the 'overweight falus' comment to heart (lol). Seriously though, thank you for taking the time to look it up. The one line and 2 line info is interesting. I'm assuming that Eustache's "Corpus du Monnaies Alawaites" is difficult to find online and if I did, it wouldn't be in English? I love researching world coins (and now ancients) and it drives me alittle crazy when I can't find the needed info. What years does the reference cover and what countries? Any info is appreciated.
I collect Moroccan coinage, which is why I own the books. It's a 3 volume set (very expensive), written in French. It covers the Alouite Dynasty of Morocco, from 1666 to the present (the book was written in 1984, so it stops then). It was published by the Bank of Rabat (the bank of Morocco).
