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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Pellinore, post: 6429303, member: 74834&quot;]In the last weeks I haven&#039;t been very active on CoinTalk. Apart from daily work I was busy improving identification of my mediaeval oriental coins. Comparing my coins with those on Zeno and putting the best or the more unusual coins with clear pictures on Zeno, too. </p><p><br /></p><p>That means making better pictures, too: larger (scans or iphone photos, max. 1.5 MB) and with white or whitish backgrounds. A lot of work, and for the good. Here are two favorite coins, both of the Qarakhanid dynasty that ruled in Central Asia (990-1210 AD more or less), in what&#039;s now Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1254386[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Qarakhanids, AR dirham, Khan Ahmad b. Ali &amp; Ilek Nasr b. Ali, Uzgend, 394 AH (=1003/4 AD). Issued in the formerly fertile <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fergana_Valley" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fergana_Valley" rel="nofollow">valley of Ferghana</a>, not far south of Tashkent. 25.5 mm (a bit larger than an American quarter), but thin: 2.84 gr. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1254392[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Qarakhanids. AR dirham, Khan Ahmad b. &#039;Ali (994-1016), Quz Ordu (Balasaghun), 396 AH (= 1005-1006 AD). Monumental design, letters with strongly wedge-shaped serifs. 25 mm, 2.52 gr. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balasagun" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balasagun" rel="nofollow">Balasaghun</a> is a ruin town with a nice medieval tower, in the middle between Bishkek and Lake Issyk Kul. </p><p><br /></p><p>For comparison, here is one of my most loved, recently acquired coins of the same period. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1254397[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>England. Anglo-Saxon kings. Aethelred II (978-1016), AR penny. London mint, moneyer Godwine. Struck ca. 997-1003 AD (=387-393 AH). 20 mm, 1.64 gr.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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