This is a bronze dirhem of large size (a bit larger than a silver dollar), issued by the Qarakhanid dynasty shortly before the onslaught of the Mongols. I really like the cartouche on the obverse, with the word 'Allah' calligraphed to such extremes as to make it almost unreadable. It was minted in Margilan, Fergana Valley, just 100 miles west of China. Qarakhanid broad AE husami dirham, Marghinan (Margilan). 602 AH. Husam ad-Dunia wa-d-Din Ulug Toghan khaqan. Obv. Central word Allah in a four-lobed cartouche/ quatrefoil. 39.5 mm, 8.38 gr. Kochnev 1137. Album-3424. Zeno 46837.
From the same period, a little worn but artistic quality high in my opinion Switzerland BERN Guldiner 1494
This is by no means a coin beauty... just one of the peoples that messed things up on BOTH sides of the Eurasian continent: Great Mongols, Genghis (Chingiz) Khan, AH 603-624/ AD 1206-1227, AE Jital (4.12gm, 2h), Ghazna type, undated, citing Genghis as Khaqan and citing on the reverse, the 'Abbasid caliph al-Nasir. O: 'adl / khaqan / al-a'zam("the Just and Supreme Khaqan" or "Just [coin] of the Supreme Khaqan"). R: al-Nasir / li-Din Allah / amir al-mu- / -minin ("al-Nasir li-Din Allah, commander of the faithful"). SICA-9, 1008; Tye 329; Album 1969
Some beautiful coins a have been shown! Here's a few of mine... Tabaristan ½ Drachm - "Ispahbadh of Tabaristan" Khurshid - 740-760 AD (Tabaristan mint 752/3 AD ) 2 gram Obverse-Bust right,crescent in right field, breast ornament with 4 pellets.Pellet above crown to right, Name in Pahlavi. Reverse- Fire altar with 2 attendants; star left and crescent right of flames. Hephthalites. Nezak Huns.. AR drachm. "Napki Malka" series. . Circa 515.680 A.D. Obverse..Bust right wearing winged-bull head-dress. Pahlavi legends nycky MLK-A Reverse:Fire altar with attendants, Solar wheels above. 3.41 grams....24.64 mm. Vondrovec [Göbl] 198 Jaime II Aragon 1291-1327 Dinero (Billon) Approx 18mm diameter - 1.17gr Obverse - Crowned portrait facing left..Legend around ARA - GON Reverse - Double cross..Legend around IACOBUS REX Mint Jaca...Cru-364 Khusro II AR Drachm. Bust right, wearing mural crown with frontal crescent, two wings, and star-in-crescent, ribbons and crescents on shoulders; monogram behind head, stars flanking crown, double border, star-in-crescents in margin. Fire altar with ribbons; flanked by two attendants; date in Pahlavi to left, mint to right. SK (SISTAN, Zarang) mint, dated RY 37 (AD 628). Göbl II/3, Pl. no. 212. 4.14g, 33mm,
AE Dirhem, Ancient Turkoman Artuqids (Kayfa & Amid), c. 1174-1185 AD (AH 570-581) Ruler: Nur al-Din Muhammad. Obv: Angel facing with right wing raised - holding serpent. Image is based on Byzantine coinage. Rev: Name and titles of Nur al-Din in 5 lines. Mint: Hisn Kayfa or Amid. Very Scarce in this condition. Ref: S&S type 9. 28mm, 11.72gm. The Artuqid dynasty was an Oghuz Turkish dynasty that ruled in Eastern Anatolia, Northern Syria and Northern Iraq in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Two main branches of the dynasty ruled from Hasankeyf (Hisn Kayfa) between 1102–1231 and Mardin between 1106–1186 (and until 1409 as vassals). There was also a third branch that acquired Harput in 1112 and was independent between 1185–1233. Maybe this isnt the most artistically refined - but the obverse design is charming and actually quite ambitious. The scene depicted is one with a lot of 3 dimensional depth as the angel (Gabriel?) takes a knee and corrals a serpent with outstretched arm.
@Quant.Geek may I ask one question about this. I have purchased about the same coin, and would like to decipher the Arabic inscription. The mint/date formula is "ﺿﺮﺏ ﺑﻘﻮﻧﻴﺔ ﻓﻰ ﺳﻨﺔ ﺍﻩﺍﺭﺑﻌﻴﻦ ﻭﺳﺘﻤﺎﺋﺔ" but on the coin it's much shorter, possibly abbreviated. Trying to put my wild guess: "ﺿﺮﺏ ﺑﻘﻮﻧﻴﺔ ﻓﻰ" on top, "ﺳ[ﻨﺔ] ﺍﻩﺍ[ﺭﺑ]ﻌﻴﻦ" on the bottom, "ﻭ]ﺳ[ﺘﻤ]ﺎ[??ﺋ]ﺔ]" on the right. Could you please help on this?