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ISLAMIC, Umayyad Caliphate. temp. 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. AH 65-86 / AD 685-705. AV Dinar (19.5mm, 4.28 g, 6h). Unnamed (Dimashq [Damascus]?) mint. Dated AH 77 (AD 696/7). First portion of the kalimat at-tawḥīd: lā ilāha illā-llāhu waḥdahu lā sharīka lahu (there is no god except Allah, and one [is] he; (there is) no partner to him) in three lines; in outer margin, the “Umayyad Second Symbol” (Sura 9 [al-tauba]:33): muḥammadur rasūlu-llāh arsalahu bi-’lhudā wa dīn al-haqq lī-yuzhirahu ’ala al-dīn kollihi walau kariha al-mushrikūn ( · Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; him He sent with guidance and true faith to make it prevail over all other faiths even though the polytheists may hate it) / Sura 112 (al-ikhlas) Āllah ahad Āllah āl-samad lam yalīd wa lam yalūd (Allah [is] One; Allah [is] the Eternal, the Absolute; not begetting and not begotten) in three lines; in outer margin, b-ismi-llāh zarb hazā l-dinār fī sanat seb’ wa seb’īn (in the name of Allah struck this dinar in the year seven and seventy (after the Hijra)). AGC I 41; SICA 2, 1 (same dies); Walker, Arab-Byzantine, 186; Album 125; W 155; Triton XIX, lot 712 (same rev. die). Traces of double striking, some light graffiti in fields, residual luster. Near EF. Extremely rare.
The Muslims struck virtually no gold coins until the final years of the seventh century AD. No Arab-Sasanian gold is known; silver drachms were the dominant coinage in the former Sasanian lands, and it was modified versions of these which the Muslims continued to strike there. In the Western provinces captured from the Byzantines, the bulk of the coinage stock was made up of gold solidi and copper fulus, but these provinces did not contain active gold mints and the Muslims made no attempt to open a new one. The few ‘de-Christianized’ solidi (see lot 1114) struck after the conquests seem to have been issued on local initiative rather than caliphal policy, and these coins were never produced in significant quantities. Rather than striking their own gold coins, the early caliphs imported huge quantities of Byzantine solidi – a solution whose deficiencies became increasingly apparent with time.
One way by which the caliphs obtained supplies of these solidi was by selling papyrus to the Byzantine court. According to one episode, recounted with minor variations by several medieval Muslim historians, ‘Abd al-Malik began adding overtly Islamic legends to the seals used on these shipments. This offended the Byzantines, prompting a threat from Justinian to retaliate by adding anti-Islamic inscriptions to the gold solidi which the Muslims would receive as payment. Rather than remove the Islamic legends from the seals, as Justinian had demanded, ‘Abd al-Malik was advised that it would be better to introduce a new, purely Islamic gold coinage himself, and to prohibit the circulation of Byzantine solidi within the Islamic lands.
This story nevertheless illustrates several important points. Firstly, that for all the decades of fighting between them, trade arrangements had been established between the Byzantines and the Muslims. Secondly, it reveals the Muslim dependence on Byzantine gold; having no gold coinage of his own meant that ‘Abd al-Malik could not simply accept Justinian’s new solidi, melt them, and use the gold to make Islamic dinars. Thirdly, it shows an appreciation of the economic benefits of introducing a new Islamic gold coinage; most versions of this story include a trusted advisor (his name varies between accounts), who urges ‘Abd al-Malik not merely to strike his own coins but to ban the use of Byzantine solidi in the Islamic lands. Charging to convert the prohibited solidi into dinars could have raised additional funds for the treasury. And, fourthly, it demonstrates the paramount importance attached to coins as symbols and instruments of religious and imperial status and expression. ‘Abd al-Malik’s adoption of Islamic slogans on the papyrus seals mattered – and mattered enough for Justinian to make a formal protest and threaten to modify his own coinage in retaliation.
It is highly unlikely that this episode alone provoked ‘Abd al-Malik to introduce an Islamic precious metal coinage. Several experimental types were struck in both gold and silver types were struck in Damascus between AH 72 and AH 77, all still closely related to Byzantine and Sasanian prototypes. But in AH 77 ‘Abd al-Malik finally made a clean break with the pre-Islamic past and introduced a gold coinage of completely new design. Instead of the modified crosses and imperial images found on previous gold issues, these new dinars were purely epigraphic in design, bearing verses from the Qur’an which stress the oneness of God in conscious opposition to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Thus the coin offered here is a very rare survivor from the first year in which purely Islamic precious metal coins were struck, and represents the genesis of a gold coinage whose weight and fineness was carefully maintained in accordance with Qur’anic precepts. The type lasted unchanged until the fall of the Umayyad caliphate in AH 132, and the enduring power of ‘Abd al-Malik’s design was such that three of the four inscriptions which feature on these first Islamic dinars were also used on the last coins of the Abbasids, struck nearly six centuries later.
The final winners of all Triton XXV lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 11-12 January 2022. Triton XXV – Session Four – Early Medieval & Islamic Coinage through Large Lots will be held Wednesday afternoon, 12 January 2022 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 20% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 22.50% for all others.
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