168, Lot: 302. Estimate $200. Sold for $330. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ISLAMIC, Anatolia & al-Jazira (Post-Seljuk). Artuqids (Kayfa & Amid). Fakhr al-Din Qara Arslan. AH 543-570 / AD 1148-1174. Æ Dirhem (29mm, 9.43 g). Nimbate figure of Christ seated facing on high-backed throne; two short lines of Arabic numerals to upper right and left / Arabic legend in three lines and margins. S&S 2.2a; Album 1820.2. Near VF.

The obverse type of Christ enthroned is derived from the Byzantine model of the Class D anonymous folles attributed to the time of Constantine IX (1042-1055). The "numerical representation of zero may be the first occurence of this phenomenon in Islamic coinage" and "it might even be conjectured that the run of numerals from 0 through 9 was an intentional allusion to the development of this concept." (S&S)