Featured Islamic Series: Dawn of Islam

Times of the Prophet Muhammad and the Rashiduns. AH1-30, AD622-651

Arab Byzantine Imitative Follis. Struck in the image of a Justinian I follis. Album 3522.2; Walker Arab Byzantine. Ex-CNG

Before the founding of Islam, the Arabian Peninsula were under the influence of their neighboring Byzantine and Sassanian powers. Even after the establishment of the first Islamic Caliphate the Rashiduns, Arab Byzantine and Arab Sassanian coinage were in official use until the currency reform by Caliph Abdul al-Malek during the early Ummayyad Caliphate.

 

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Very interesting. What was the composition profile of the coins?

 

Thanks. What do you mean by composition? It's bronze/copper alloy.

 

My bad. Visual arts aside, you nailed it. So do you have a reference to alloys of that time?

 

Nice => that's a very cool coin, LS ... ya gotta like the imitative examples (neat)

 

Thanks. Those are really a whole different beast.. but very interesting field

 

I don't think I came across any references on their composition. However there are a number of reference books on this area. Online there are a few articles and a book by Walker on the Dumberton Oaks collection of Arab Byzantine may be a good reference.

 

I think that's a terrific coin and a fascinating type---it's struck as well, if not better, than those of the actual Byzantine Empire.

For the uninitiated, what gives it its specific attribution identity--- the 'lettering' and overall 'styling' perhaps?? I could easily confuse it for a typical' Byzantine issue.

 

The most obvious is probably style. They are characteristically crude and does not follow Byzantine standards. For instance this is a Follis but it is pretty small. Nowhere near a Follis weight and size. Secondly, some has Arabic legends which is a giveaway. Later issues replace the cross with a pillar to remove any Christian annotations. Finally, the image of the Byzantine Emperor maybe replaced with an image of a Caliph in Arabian attire (standing caliph).

 

There are quite a few coins that straddle the line between the Byzantines and the neighboring Islamic lands. We tend to just lump the most normal in with the official Byzantines but it is harder to decide where to catalog ones with bilingual inscriptions like this of 'EMICHC' (Emesa) which I have listed currently as from the time of Constans II (correct???). I find interesting the fact that it retains the cross on globe and on the headdress. Greek on obverse reads KAΛON. What does the Arabic say? Mint name? The reverse has the mint name in Greek and Arabic in exergue meaning good (or KAΛON). If I read this correctly both sides say the same thing in opposite splits of the two languages. There is a lot to learn in Arab Byzantine. I know nothing.

 

Wonderful coin, Siew.

 

You have a great coin and the Arabic legends definitely point to Arab Byzantine origins as well as the overall look. What I gathered was early Islamic coinage used existing designs for convenience as a strong systemized government machinery such as coinage was still not reformed yet. They did not place too much emphasis on the Christian iconography too much until they started to get sensitive of it and establishing rigid indoctrination of their laws such as forbidding the display of imagery on coins. I think the Arabic text refers to the Tayyib which means "Good" .. SICA 542 from wild winds looks very very close if not the same as your coin

http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/byz/Imitative/t.html

 

Thanks

 

Thanks.. For an Arab Byzantine and time of Muhammad, I'm quite pleased with this specimen as well. Must thank CNG for this

 

awesome coin, i'd love to get an arab-byantine coin. the one package i ordered from a vcoins seller that didn't make it to me had an arab-byzantine follis in it, similar to doug's coin.

here's a contemporary byzantine of constans ii, i think the arab-byzantine coins are better artistically.

 

Great coin! I don't think Arab Byzantines are necessarily better looking than Byzantines. I think it all has to do with the wear and tear of each coin. I feel Arab Byz tend to have weaker strikes and cruder details. Also their weights vary vastly and inconsistent.

 

I really appreciate reading all your threads, Loong. You've contributed quite a bit to my numismatic knowledge in areas where I'm quite weak, and for that I'm grateful. Nice to have you at CT!

 

Thanks @John Anthony ... Pleasure's all mine although I cannot take credit as I am merely referencing the hard work of other experts..

 

Ummm hey, I wanna play!!

LS => this is probably the closest example I have to your sweet rose carpet OP-coin?






... ummm, do I get to play with you guys?




*whatev* .... I have yardwork that I could tackle

(oh ... my example is a Justin-II ... 565-578 AD)