278, Lot: 461. Estimate $300. Sold for $700. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Umayyad Caliphate. al-Hajjāj ibn Yūsuf. Æ Pashiz (18mm, 0.79 g, 12h). Bīshāpūr mint. No date. Crowned Sasanian-style bust facing; “May xvarrah increase” in Pahlavi to left; open circle border with star-in-crescent motif at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock / Horse to right; above, “Victorious Aāy”(?) in Pahlavi in two lines; double circle border. Gyselen 62.1 (this coin). VF, brown patina, slightly double struck, areas of porosity. Very rare.

From the J. P. Righetti Collection. Ex F. Gurnet Collection.

In Treadwell’s Phase B (ca. AH 72-95) one finds designs breaking free from the traditional Sasanian repertoire. In place of the Sasanian prototypes, many officials and engravers turned to other art forms, most notably sigillographic imagery, for inspiration.

The official al-Hajjāj ibn Yūsuf is also recorded on the silver coinage (see Album 35ff).