Here is a piece I bought yesterday, seller's photo. Its an interesting piece in its the very last Central Asian cash coin. Unlike other areas, there was not a lot of overlap between coinage pre and post Islamic. Basically there is this one and the Bukhar Hadat silver pieces from Bukhara which has been shown here. Its a copper cash coin, but they have put in Kufic, (early Islamic) script on it. Its listed in some references as proto-Qarakhanid, (the Qarakhans being the Islamic dynasty in Central Asia). Its the third I have seen for sale in about a decade, so pretty darn scarce. So, another scarce coin I can check off my list. its been a pretty decent year for me acquiring some long wanted coins.
Other than the Kufic script issues? DO you have an example? I learned of this coin's importance from a Russian title with a small English summary describing it as the last Sogdian cash piece before round Islamic coinage.
Here's an interesting piece cast in the Chinese style at Sijistan in eastern Iran, an 'Abbasid fals in the name of the future caliph al-Mahdi, dated AH 151/ AD 768. Extremely rare, unpublished with countermark.
Well that makes two of us. Now that my socks have been knocked off, I am gonna start wearing flip flops.
This type was first published by Miles, Rare Islamic Coins, p. 125, 408 from a specimen in the ANS collection. It is also listed in Shamma's 'Abbasid catalogue, p. 289, no. 4, citing not only the specimen published by Miles but two others in the Tubingen University collection. Steve Album has included it in the Checklist as no. 335 (RRR). This particular piece has been authenticated by Dr. Lutz Ilisch of Tubingen, noting that the countermark bears the name of a later governor anis also found on two coins of a different Sijistan type in the collection there. I no longer have my collection but I enjoy bringing them out virtually from time to time.
That is exactly the type I was thinking of. Are you sure its cast and not just struck on a cast flan? I've handled a few fakes but never a real one.
Well we know both methods were used. The "snow leopard" type was actually made both ways, some cast and others struck on cast flans. I can't tell you how many of THOSE things I have. Man I am a sucker for cheap sogdian coins. List another "snow leopard" at a starting bid of $5 and my fingers simply have to bid. I have won quite a few, (ok a couple of dozen) for $5 each.
It may well be struck on a cast flan. I'm usually one myself to point out "struck on a cast flan" where someone else has written "cast". I don't remember now why i wrote the description the way I did some years ago. Perhaps i was just being lazy.
This is a lovely and very rare piece. It is unique as being a transitional coin during a very short span when the Qarakhanids just adopted Islam and moved from the traditional Chinese style and the adoption of the Islamic standard
