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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 4998119, member: 81887&quot;][ATTACH=full]1199923[/ATTACH] </p><p>Arab-Sasanian, Abbasid Caliphate.&nbsp; Shiraz mint.&nbsp; AE fals (2.22 g, 19 mm).&nbsp; AH 137 (AD 754/5).&nbsp; Obverse: Sassanian-style bust right, Arabic legend &quot;Muhammad rasul Allah&quot; (Muhammad is the Prophet of God) around.&nbsp; Reverse: First half of the Kalima &quot;la ilah illa/ Allah wahdadu/ la sherik lahu&quot; (There is no god but God/ He is alone/ no partner to Him), surrounded by legend giving date and mint (partially off flan).&nbsp; Album B335.&nbsp; This coin: Pars Coins Auction 7 (July 14, 2020), lot 553.</p><p><br /></p><p>As I&#039;ve discussed in previous posts, the early Islamic caliphates took a while before they started issuing a truly new coinage style.&nbsp; The earliest coins imitated the designs of existing currency of the newly-conquered lands, leading to &quot;Arab-Byzantine&quot; coinage in bronze (plus some very rare gold types) and &quot;Arab-Sasanian&quot; coinage in both silver and bronze.&nbsp; The first &quot;Post-Reform&quot; coins featuring designs entirely of Arabic script were struck in AH 77 (696 AD) and quickly became standard throughout the Islamic world.&nbsp; While Arab-Sasanian silver types continued for a number of decades in a few outlying areas (notably Tabaristan on the coast of the Caspian Sea and Sistan at the eastern edge of the caliphate), both Arab-Byzantine and Arab-Sasanian bronze production seems to have ended by about 720 AD.</p><p><br /></p><p>Except, not completely.&nbsp; This coin from Shiraz, in southwestern Iran, bears a very Sasanian-style portrait, but the reverse type is strictly post-reform, and even bears the date of AH 137 (AD 754/5). This is unusual for featuring both Arab-Sasanian and Post-Reform design types (there are a couple of other very rare examples), and seems to be the latest Arab-Sasanian bronze issue.&nbsp;&nbsp; I have been unable to find any explanation for why such a type was issued.&nbsp; So far, all I can say is that bronze coinage was much less centrally regulated than silver and gold, and local mints had more freedom to experiment with bronze&nbsp; designs.&nbsp; (There&#039;s a similar coin, also from Shiraz, dated AH 126.&nbsp; Maybe the local mint master just liked the Sasanian portrait style?)&nbsp; Anyway, definitely an interesting coin, and quite rare.&nbsp; Album rates it RRR (his highest rarity rating: &quot;Almost never available.&nbsp; Few collectors will ever have the chance to acquire these pieces.&quot;)&nbsp; Please post your Arab-Sasanian coins, or coins that are intermediate between two styles, or whatever else seems related.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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