I can only present my favorites in three parts. Today's the day for the medieval islamic coinage. The Celts will follow, and the General Selection. In general, I'm collecting coins until 1300 AD, with a few exceptions, from Western Europe through Rome, Anatolia and Persia to Central Asia, with a few exceptions. In 2020 I bought a number of medieval coins from the Orient, as for the islamic part spearheaded for calligraphy. These I will present first. I had a number of Indonesian tin pitis that I bought from Frank Robinson some years ago, coins from the Early Modern times: 17th and 18th century, before the industrial revolution and before the conquest by the Dutch. Only this year I started to really look at these coins and value them as attractive, slight model cashlike coins, and I bought some more. And some of these harmonious little gold coins (12 mm) of the Aceh Sultanate. In the course of the 17th century there was a long sequence of female sultans, this is a coin of one of them. 10. Sultanate of Aceh (North Sumatra), gold kupang. Sultana Safiyat al-Din Taj al-'Alam, AH 1051-1086 (=AD 1641-1675). Obverse "paduka seri sultanah taj al-'alam", reverse "safiyat al-din shah ber dawlat". 12 mm, 0.59 gr. 9. Sultanate Jambi tin pitis, 1687-1719. Obv. in Javan script: ‘Sultan Gede’. Rev. blank. Round-holed. 21 mm, 0.91 gr. FSR Djambi cat. type 42. This is a coin from about 1000 AD, a year that I keep coming back at. A tiny coin of a minor islamic dynasty, the Habbarids, who reigned in what's now Pakistan. Here's a post about it. I confess: I fell for its clownish looks. 8. AR damma, Habbarids of Sindh. Amir Ahmad, about 1000 AD. 9 mm, 0.52 gr. And then there's the thing of the pale gold. The gold coins that have more silver in them than gold. You may trample on them or despise them. But I value them for what they are: nicer than silver. This coin is a bit vague... cloudy in its looks... yellowish silver... but probably EF at the least, like when it left the mint... charmin g ... 7. Buwayhids, pale gold dinar. Baha' al-Dawla Abu Nasr Firuz Kharshah. Mint Suq al-Ahwaz, 398? AH = 1007/8 AD. 28 mm, 4.41 gr. Album 1573. And this is a dirham of the same Persian dynasty. Shortly after 1000 AD again. 6. Buwayhids, dirham, Sultan al-Dawla (1012-1024). Mint Shiraz, 406 AH (=1015/6). Ornate obverse design, with the Arabic phrase nasr min Allah wa'l-fath qarib, "help is from God, and victory is near". 28.5 mm, 3.88 gr. Album 1581, Treadwell-Sh 406. The next coin was issued by the Samanids, who were a shining example of regularity and harmony as concerns their coins. Also, they kept up a very effective trade system with the Vikings from Northern Europe, and Samanid coins are found in Sweden by the thousands. They paid with good silver to obtain fur from the Vikings, but also for those Northern robbers' other spoils: slaves that were captured in Britain and Western Europe. 5. AR dirham Samanids, Ismail b. Ahmad, dated 291 AH = 904 AD. Mint Balkh. 27 mm, 2.85 gr. Splendid style. Album 1443. Zeno 47057 (this coin). This is a beautiful gold coin from the eleventh century AD. It was part of a huge treasure found in Persia in the 1960s, consisting of more than 3000 gold pieces. This year a number of these are again coming into the market; I bought this one for a little over the price of gold. 4. Kakwayhid / Kakuyid dynasty. Faramurz, 1041-1051, AV dinar Isbahan, AH435 (1043-4), Album 1592.2. Citing the Great Seljuq overlord Tughril Beg, bow & arrow above obverse field, shams above reverse field. Seljuq emblem bow and arrow in upper obverse field, arranged to appear like a mosque's dome and minaret. From the hoard of 3000 pieces found in the 1960s, Unc. 26.5 mm, 3.98 gr. This is a nice 'Romanesque' dirham of the Ziyarid dynasty, the Iranian rulers of Tabaristan 930-1090 AD. My first Ziyarid, a dynasty that I never heard of before I bought this coin. The flan is a bit thicker than contemporary coins of Persia and Central Asia and a bit too small for the die. Also, it's not as sharp as many contemporary dirhams. Still, attractive and rare - I haven't seen the design anywhere else. 3. AR dirham Ziyarids, Falak al-Ma’ali Manuhchihr 1012-1029, Jurjan, no date. Both sides with a hexafoil. 21/23 mm, 2.76 gr. Album 1537, struck on a narrow flan. Manuhchihr claimed descent from the Sasanid king Varhran V (Bahram Gur, 420-438 AD). The final two coins are gold dinars again. The first depicts four dragons on its reverse, who are there to protect the sultan, and they did their job well, for Seljuk sultan Sanjar reigned for almost forty years and he delivered many victorious battles (until that last one, that is). 2. AV pale dinar Great Seljuq. Sanjar (1118-1157). Herat, ND. Obv. with elaborate circle. Rev. shows two dragons at the top and two at the foot of the central circle. 24.5 mm, 3.86 gr. Album 1687. You haven't seen any Qarakhanids coins from me in this selection, though I bought dozens. I kept the best for the last, for I thought it was time for me to buy a gold Qarakhanid finally. They are uncommon compared to the Ghaznavids, Samanids and Seljuqs. And this one was minted for only part of a year when the Qarakhanids still had a lot of fury and conquered the city of Nishapur for a few months, before being driven out again. Nishapur was one of the most important mints of gold coins of these centuries. 1. Qarakhanid AV dinar, Nishapur 396 AH = 1005 AD. Nasr b. 'Ali with Ahmad b. ‘Ali as Nasir al-Haqq Khan. Nasr b. Ali as Al-Mu’ayyad Al-‘Adl, Badshah and Ilek, without mentioning caliph Qadir billah. 24 mm, 4.10 gr. Album 3301. SNAT XIVa nr. 552 (not 554). Minted during the short occupation of Nishapur by the Qarakhanids.
My favourites are the Buwayhid dirham (neat design, important ruler), the Kakuyid dinar, and the dragon dinar. That dragon is awesome! I wasn't aware of the female sultans of Aceh, added to The List! No Islamic coins made my top 10 this year, but here are a couple I like: Tahirids: Tahir I ibn al-Husayn, AR dirham (27 mm, 2.92 g), Tahirid revolt issue, citing Tahir I ibn al-Husayn as Dhu'l-Yaminayn ('possesor of two right hands' in Kufic) and the governor al-Shukr ibn Ibrahim. Herat, AH 206 = AD 821/822. SICA III, 2071. Rare. Zangids (Syria): al-Malik al-Salih Isma'il AE fals (21 mm, 3.09 g), Halab. Diademed Roman style bust to right; around, legend in Kufic bearing the mint-name and the AH date. Rev. 'Lillah / al-Mustadi bi-Amr- / Amir al-Mu'minin / al-Malik al-Salih / Ismai'il' in Kufic in five lines. SICA VI, 845. Spengler & Sayles 76.
Great, and FUN 20 of 20 @Pellinore ! FUN coins, great variety... I like! LOL, oops, #8, MISattribution! I like IKE! Silly America, TV Show, South Park, Character IKE (Canadian baby)
Great coins Pellinore I am glad you are into Islamic coinage, like myself. I love #2/3 ! I really find it hard to get fully struck MS Seljuk/ Qarakhanid AV Dinars. John
A fabulous list! I very much like the Samanid dirham – this is a type I am looking for myself, especially because of its connections to the use of Islamic coins in medieval northern and central Europe.
The style, calligraphy and ornamentation of the Samanid dirham are absolutely fantastic! And who can say no to gorgeous early Islamic gold? Is anything more known about that Kakwayhid hoard? Or was it quickly absorbed into the market? Anyhow, wonderful pickups! And too funny @Severus Alexander; I remember being the underbidder on that Tahirid revolt issue dirham! Looking back, I think it went quite cheaply for how nice of an example that was. Must have gotten overshadowed by the other islamic beauties in that auction. Congrats!
