both of these purchases were inspired by some of you bad influences here at cointalk. @FitzNigel thread on a coin of william ii with an arabic legend... https://www.cointalk.com/threads/medieval-william-ii-of-norman-sicily.269885/ i asked about a coin of bela iii of hungary that also has a pseudo/imitative (see the thread above) and mentioned that i didn't have one of the type. that has been remedied. HUNGARY, Bela III, 1172-1196 AD, Arabic style Pseudo-Arabic legends on both sides. 24 mm, 2.4 g this thread by @John Anthony reminded me that i wanted a type of coin i had seen before, but didn't know the name for..."bracteate". if interested, see his thread for a discussion of the type. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/swiss-bracteate-of-gallen-abbey-1295-1301.269943/ may not have been minted during bela ii reign, these all are attributed to bela iii though his grandson bela iv. Bela III - Bela IV of Hungary, 1172-1270 AD, AR Bracteate Head right, reverse incuse of obverse. Unger 122. 16 mm, 0.4 g this thing is so thin, i get nervous every time i handle it! interesting style coin, i don't own anything quite like it. post anything you want that is vaguely related. bela iii, arabic but not, 12-13th century, very thin...whatev as stevex would say.
Interesting that the coins are both Arabic and I would say Western style with a portrait of the ruler (not allowed in the Muslim faith). I don't collect these, but they are interesting. Congratulations.
If that's what Bela IV looked like, ouch! He obviously could not afford a good plastic surgeon even though he was a king. Just kidding, awesome coins!
the first coin imitates the arabic language, but both were minted by christians...so no problems with the images on a silver coin. i haven't found an explanation of the head sallent, plus it hasn't been pinned down to a specific ruler..so don't know. hey, you did some great detective work with that ass mark on your RR coin sallent..i have a project for you.
Very nice additions indeed! That one and only bracteate that I handled recently certainly did seem fragile. Spink had it delivered in a jewelry box, and that's probably the best way to store these things. Putting them in flips and squeezing them into a box or folder page seems like they would be in danger of getting flattened or bent. As you know by your example, they're paper-thin.
