Islamic Auction 2
Date: 2022-10-27 00:00:00
Lots: 330
Total starting: $ 0.00
Total realized: $ 0.00 (+0.00%)
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Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 1
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. In the name of Yazdigerd III. AR Drachm (32mm, 3.98 g, 3h). BN (probably Bamm) mint. Dated YE 20 = AH 31 (AD 651/2). Obverse: Bust of Yazdigerd III to right, name-legend before, jayyid in margin. Malek, Arab-Sasanian 215. Near EF. Very rare, especially in this condition.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 2
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. In the name of Khusraw II. AR Drachm (34.5mm, 4.09 g, 9h). ŠY (uncertain location). Dated AH 33 (AD 654). Obverse: name of Khusraw in Pahlawi before bust; jayyid in second quadrant of margin. Malek, Arab-Sasanian 1242A; Album F6. Toned. Near EF. Very rare, especially in this condition. Drachms with the obverse legend jayyid instead of bismillah are generally regarded as some of the very earliest Arab-Sasanian coins. Coins with the name and portrait of Yazdigerd III are known from at least six different mints, while those which copy Khusraw II types are only reported from the mint of ŠY (as here). Most jayyid drachms have the frozen 'year 20' date of the Yazdigerd Era, but the date '33' on the present coin has been plausibly interpreted by Album as a Hijri date (so Malek p. 47, citing SICA 1, p. 8). If Album is correct, this coin is the earliest Islamic coin to bear a Hijri date.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 3
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. al-Hakam b. Abi al-'As. Circa AH 54-58 / AD 674-677. AR Drachm (28mm, 2.66 g, 9h). GRM mint (possibly Garmshir in Kirman). Dated AH 56 (AD 675/6). Obverse margin: Allah rabb al-hukm in second quadrant. Malek, Arab-Sasanian 589 (same reverse die). Evenly clipped (probably to the post-Reform dirham standard). VF. Very rare.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 4
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. Ubaydallah b. Ziyad. AH 54-64 / AD 673-683. AR Drachm (31.5mm, 5.19 g, 2h). NY (Nihawand) mint. Dated AH 56 (AD 675/6). Malek, Arab-Sasanian 933. Pierced. Good VF. The weight of this coin is exceptional for an Arab-Sasanian drachm, and this may be why it was pierced for use in jewellery.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 5
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. Salm b. Ziyad. Circa AH 61-65 / AD 680-684. AR Drachm (32.5mm, 3.55 g, 2h). MRW (Marw) mint. Dated AH 68 (AD 687/8). Obverse: bismillah ∵ - ∵ Allah akbar in second and third marginal quadrants; three Hephthalite countermarks in first, second and fourth quadrants / Reverse: Bactrian legend ambēro in first marginal quadrant. Malek, Arab-Sasanian 860 (same obverse die as illustration). Buckled flan with two major splits. Near EF. Toned. Very rare.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 6
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. temp 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan. AH 65-86 / AD 685-705. AR Drachm (30mm, 3.33 g, 3h). AKWLA (Aqola, near al-Kufa) mint. Dated AH 72 (AD 691/2). Obverse: Sasanian royal bust to left, without name-legend before, crescent by chin, bismillah - la ilaha illa Allah - wahdahu Muhammad - rasul Allah in margin around / Reverse: Fire-altar with attendants, date to left, mint-signature to right. VF. Excessively rare and apparently unpublished. This important transitional drachm provides further evidence for the evolution of the early Islamic silver coinage, as the old Sasanian-type drachms were gradually replaced by reformed dirhams durimg the 70s/690s. The primary centres for change were Damascus, the Umayyad capital, and the two mints of Basra and Aqola (near al-Kufa), which were under the control of the Caliph's brother, Bishr b. Marwan. Damascus had never been under Sasanian control and so had no history of striking these drachms, but, coinage being the conservative medium it is, it was evidently decided that Damascus drachms should look similar to other Arab-Sasanian silver. At Aqola and Basra, the position was somewhat different; both mints had a history of striking normal Arab-Sasanian drachms bearing governors' names. However, the present coin demonstrates that Damascus and Aqola faced a similar headache in the year AH 72: whose name, if any, should go in the field before the Sasanian royal bust. At Damascus, it seems that the first solution to this was to put Muhammad rasul Allah in this position, but this was soon abandoned. Instead, the familiar Pahlawi name-legend of the long-dead Khusraw II reappears on Damascus dirhams dated AH 72, 73 and 74 (see lot 10), although the mint-name and date on the reverse of these coins is written in Arabic rather than Pahlawi. But Aqola and Basra took a different approach. On the reverse, the mint and date are rendered in Pahlawi, just as on previous Arab-Sasanian drachms. While all previous Arab-Sasanian drachms had named someone as a secular authority, whether an Arab governor or a long-dead Sasanian monarch, the obverse of the present coin anticipates the post-reform Umayyad silver coinage in being completely anonymous. The four quadrants of the obverse margin carry the Profession of Faith, proudly and overtly identifying the coin as an Islamic issue, but the space before the royal bust is left blank. However, as at Damascus, it seems that this design was soon abandoned and the name of Bishr b. Marwan, once again written in Pahlawi, reappears on the 'Orans' drachms struck at Aqola in the following year (see lot 7). Might it have been felt that, in the absence of any other name on the coin, placing Muhammad rasul Allah near the Sasanian bust could be interpreted as associating the royal portrait with the Prophet himself?
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 7
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. Bishr b. Marwan. fl. AH 73-75 / AD 692-694. AR Drachm (27mm, 2.66 g, 2h). 'Orans' type. Aqola (al-Kufa) mint. Dated AH 73 (AD 692/3). Obverse margin: bismillah - la ilaha illa Allah wa - hdahu Muhammad ra - sul Allah / Reverse field: Standing bearded figure facing, wearing long elaborate robe, flanked by two smaller figures wearing plain robes, their heads turned to face the central figure; mint and date in Pahlawi to right and left respectively. Treadwell A4 (same obverse die); Album 27.1; Malek, Arab-Sasanian p. 93. Evenly clipped. Near VF. Very rare, the first year in which these 'Orans' drachms were issued. This is an example of the very first issue of these drachms on which the date is written conventionally in words, while coins dated dated AH 74 and 75 invariably bear dates written in Pahlawi numerals. This use of numerals is exceptional for Arab-Sasanian drachms and is almost entirely confined to the mint of Aqola (the following lot is an excessively rare exception). The precise identity of the figures on the reverse remains uncertain. It is generally accepted that the central figure is in an attitude of prayer with his hands raised, while those flanking him are listening or otherwise attendant upon him. From this, there is also general consensus that the central figure must either represent an imam or, possibly, a more specific Muslim figure of authority. Bishr b. Marwan, the Caliph's brother, is the individual whose name appears on the coin, but Walker suggested that this standing figure might be the Caliph himself. However, Walker's suggestion was partly motivated by his mistaken belief that this reverse type copies a Byzantine gold solidus of Heraclius, where the emperor is depicted as a standing figure flanked by his two sons. In fact, the Orans design comes from a modification of Sasanian and Arab-Sasanian drachms, with the Orans figure replacing the Zoroastrian fire-altar. Thus rather than being a reinterpretation of an Imperial dynastic image, as Walker supposed, these drachms are a relatively simple transformation of a Sasanian religious scene into a Muslim one. Based on a very detailed study of the iconography of the reverse, Treadwell has plausibly suggested that the figure on the reverse is in fact the khatib, seen here in the act of delivering the Friday prayers. These prayers would have included the shahada, which appears in the obverse margin, and which can now be interpreted alongside the Orans image itself. On this analysis, the scene on the reverse of this coin provides us with a visual depiction of how Friday prayers were conducted only a couple of generations after the passing of the Prophet himself.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 8
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. Marwan b. al-Muhallab. fl. AH 74 / AD 694. AR Drachm (24.5mm, 2.00 g, 3h). KWAT (Kavad-Khurra) mint. Dated AH 74. Reverse: date in Pahlawi numerals. Malek, Arab-Sasanian 816A. Lightly clipped. VF. Extremely rare. Marwan b. al-Muhallab's father was al-Muhallab b. Abi Sufra, who had originally supported the Zubayrids against the Umayyads but who transferred his allegiance to 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan after the defeat of Mus'ab b. al-Zubayr in AH 72. Little is known of his career, although he was killed during a rebellion in AH 102. This extremely rare issue is his only appearance in the numismatic record. While the specimen published by Malek is described as 'clipped', it seems that these drachms were originally struck to a smaller module and lighter weight standard than normal. The present coin while almost exactly half the weight of a standard drachm, nevertheless still retains its full marginal legend and has all eight intact star-and-crescents in the outer margins on both sides. Even the crown on the Sasanian royal bust is fully visible. It is hard to reconcile this with the assumption that this coin has lost more than half its original silver through clipping. Might it have been struck to the weight standard later adopted for the post-Reform dirham?
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 9
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. Abdallah b. Umayya. fl. AH 75-77 / AD 695-697. AR Drachm (31mm, 3.60 g, 3h). MRW (Marw) mint. Dated YE 65 = AH 77 (AD 696/7). Obverse: 'Abdallah / b. 'Umayya, in Arabic, in two lines before bust / Reverse: Bactrian word ambēro in first quadrant of margin. Malek, Arab-Sasanian p. 401, fig. 14.1.4 (this piece). Hephthalite countermarks in first and fourth obverse marginal quadrants. Good VF. Toned. Of the highest rarity and believed the only published specimen. 'Abdallah b. Umayya was the son of Umayya b. 'Abdallah, appointed by his father to the governorship of Sistan in AH 75. Captured by the local Zunbil ruler of Bust, he was reportedly ransomed at a cost of 300,000 dirhams. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the caliph 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan took a dim view of this debacle, ordering that 'Abdallah b. Umayya should be stripped of his governorship. 'Abdallah then joined the rebellion of 'Abd al-Rahman b. Muhammad against al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf, but was defeated once again by the Zunbil and killed in battle during AH 77.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 10
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. temp 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan. AH 65-86 / AD 685-705. AR Drachm (33.5mm, 3.17 g, 3h). Dimashq mint. Dated AH 74. Obverse margin: bismillah - la ilaha illa Allah - wahdahu Muhammad ra - sul Allah Obverse field: Bust of Khusraw II to right, his name in Pahlawi before / Reverse field: Dimashq to left ; date arba't (with ta marbuta) wa saba'in to right. Minor staining, edge slightly rough. Good VF. Extremely rare. This extremely rare issue is an example of one of the first Arab-Sasanian drachms issued at Damascus. Struck between AH 72-74, these conformed to the familiar type with the bust of Khusraw II on the obverse, still with his name-legend written in Pahlawi. The reverse represents a departure from the Sasanian tradition, since the mint and date are written in Arabic rather than Pahlawi. Two varieties are known for the year AH 74, one with the '4' of the date written as arba' (ending with an 'ayn), and the other ending with a ta marbuta. This is a very rare example of the latter type.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 11
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. temp 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan. AH 65-86 / AD 685-705. AR Drachm (30.5mm, 2.51 g, 3h). Standing Caliph type. Without mint-name. Dated AH 75 (AD 694/5). Obverse margin: bismillah - la ilaha illa Allah - wahdahu Muhammad ra - sul Allah Obverse field: Sasanian bust to right; duriba fi sanat to right, khams / wa saba'in in two lines to left / Reverse field: The Caliph standing facing, wearing elaborate robe, right hand on the hilt of a sheathed sword hung at his waist; Amir al-mu'minin to left; khalifat Allah to right. Album L40 (RRR); cf. Morton & Eden 54 (23 April 2012), lot 23 (same obverse die). Cleaned, broken and expertly repaired (not affecting the Caliph's image). Good VF. Extremely rare. 'The standing figure on the Arab coins was designed with the thought of producing a rival, so to speak, of the representation of the Emperor...a figure of the same general appearance, but specifically Arab and Muslim as opposed to Byzantine and Christian. The emperor wears a crown; the caliph wears the kufiya. The emperor holds a cross; the caliph carries a sword and is prepared to draw it against the enemies of Islam. The emperor wears a loros...the caliph wears a robe or mantle, presumably the burdah of the Prophet.' - George Miles, 'The Earliest Arab Gold Coinage,' ANS MN 13 (1967), p.216 This is the first confirmed depiction of the Caliph on an Islamic silver coin. Although the silver issues of Bishr b. Marwan which feature a standing figure on the reverse with hands raised in prayer are often termed 'Caliph Orans' drachms (see lot 7), it is now thought that this is probably a depiction of an imam (or possibly Bishr b. Marwan himself) rather than the Caliph. It has traditionally been accepted that this extremely rare type was probably struck at Damascus, the Umayyad capital, although it carries no mint-name. Goodwin has pointed out that the only copper fulus to bear the legend Amir al-mu'minin - khalifat Allah were struck at Sarmin, Manbij, and Ma'arrat Misrin but not at Damascus, and while he concludes that Damascus is 'quite a strong probability' he does not exclude the possibility that these drachms might have been struck elsewhere. But in his study of the Orans drachms of Bishr b. Marwan, Treadwell simply refers to these coins as 'the silver issues of Damascus dated AH 75', without qualification. If it was indeed struck at Damascus, this coin represents a considerable advance from the relatively traditional types issued there in the previous year (see lot 10). On the obverse, the Sasanian bust and marginal legends have been retained, but the name and titles of Khusraw have been removed and replaced by the date, written in Arabic, which has been moved from the reverse. Here we also see a further step towards the familiar mint/date formula used on the post-reform coinage. The Damascus drachms dated AH 74 simply have the date in words, exactly it appears on the Pahlawi date legends, while the present coin adds the prefatory formula duriba fi sanat, 'struck in the year'. But it is the much more fundamental redesign of the reverse which is particularly striking here. The familiar Zoroastrian fire-altar and attendants have finally been removed, and in their place is the single, visually imposing image of the caliph himself, wearing Arab dress and carrying a sword. While there is some ambiguity over the the identity of the figure on the so-called 'Caliph orans' drachms, the legends on the present coin could hardly be more emphatic, identifying him as the 'Commander of the Faithful' and 'God's Caliph.' It has been noted that the spelling of khalifa is unconventional, as it lacks both the long i and the final ta marbuta. Robert Darley-Doran has suggested that the phrase may in fact read khalqat Allah, meaning 'the image of God' (so Goodwin, p. 39). But while this may be a closer fit to the Arabic script, it is difficult to see why this phrase might have been chosen to accompany what is manifestly an image of the caliph himself. It seems more likely that the unusual spelling seen here represents a variation which was regarded as acceptable at the time, or was simply an engraving error. Both of these features are attested elsewhere on the Damascus precious metal coinage during the 70s/690s.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 12
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf. AH 75-95 / AD 694-713. AR Drachm (32.5mm, 3.60 g, 3h). BYŠ (Bishapur) mint. Dated AH 77 (AD 696/7). Obverse: al-Hajjaj ibn yusuf in Arabic before bust; bismillāh , lā ilāha il lā-llāhu waḥdahu and, Muḥammad rasul-llāh in Arabic between crescent-in-pellets in outer margin. Malek, Arab-Sasanian 337; SICA 1, 217. Toned, areas of weak strike. VF. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 112 (11 September 2019), lot 702.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 13
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf. AH 75-95 / AD 694-713. AR Drachm (32mm, 3.90 g, 12h). BYŠ (Bishapur) mint. Dated AH 76 (AD 695/6). Obverse: shahada arranged radially in margin; governor's name in Arabic before bust. Malek, Arab-Sasanian 335-6; SICA 1, 215. Traces of deposit on reverse. Near EF. Rare.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 14
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. Abdallah b. Amir (al-Mujashi'i). Temporary governor at Sijistan, AH 80 / AD 699-700. AR Drachm (31mm, 3.75 g, 2h). SK (Sijistan) mint. Dated AH 80 (AD 699/700). Obverse margin: Salim - bismillah ∴ - Allah wali 'Abdallah - bin Amir. Cf Malek, Arab-Sasanian 1031 (name of Salim in reverse margin). Small edge nick, some staining and deposit on reverse. Good VF. Extremely rare.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 15
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. Abdallah b. Amir (al-Mujashi'i). Temporary governor at Sijistan, AH 80 / AD 699-700. AR Drachm (30.5mm, 3.39 g, 9h). SK (Sijistan) mint. Dated AH 80 (AD 699/700). Obverse margin: bismillah ∴ - Allah wali 'Abdallah - bin Amir / Reverse margin: Salim in second quadrant. Malek, Arab-Sasanian 1031. Edge chip. Good VF. Extremely rare.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 16
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. Abd al-Rahman b. Muhammad (Ibn al-Ash'ath). fl. AH 80-84 / AD 700-703. AR Drachm (31.5mm, 3.94 g, 6h). SK (Sistan) mint. Dated AH 83 (AD 702/3). Obverse margin: Tash - bismillah - rabbi. Malek, Arab-Sasanian 1060 = Morton & Eden 82 (20 October 2016), lot 92 (same dies). Centres cleaned. Good VF. Very rare. The word in the first quadrant of the obverse margin remains unread. Malek proposed the reading T'ar, but the three 'teeth' immediately following the 't' are clearly vertical and spaced equally. Tash, interpreting the three equal 'teeth' as forming a sin or shin, or something like Tabir, with each 'tooth' representing a single letter, would seem preferable.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 17
Pre-reform issues, Arab-Armenian. Muhammad. Circa AH 80 / AD 700. AR Zuzun (27.5mm, 3.10 g, 2h). ŠY mint. Dated '37'. Obverse: name of Khusraw in Pahlawi before bust, Muhammad in Arabic in second quadrant of margin, Greek letter phi in crescent to right of bust. Album H97; cf. Album 14 (21 September 2012), lot 98. Fine. Extremely rare. It seems likely that these coins were struck somewhere in the Caucasus, and it has been plausibly suggested that the weight, which is lower than that of Arab-Sasanian drachms of the main series, was reduced to correspond to half a Byzantine hexagram. The Greek letter in the obverse margin further supports that these coins were intended to circulate in a region where Greek was commonly used and understood; similar coins are known with several other Greek letters in the same place
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 18
Pre-reform issues, Tabaristan ('Abbasid governors). Muhammad (the future caliph al-Mahdi). AH 146-148 / AD 763-765. AR Hemidrachm (25mm, 1.94 g, 8h). Tabaristan mint. Dated AH 146 (in Arabic) (AD 763/4). Obverse: naming al-Mahdi Muhammad before bust / Reverse: naming Rawh b. Hatim to left of fire-altar. Malek 53; Album S73. Scraped in third quadrant of obverse margin. Good VF. Extremely rare. Ex Baldwin's Islamic Auction 19 (25 April 2012), lot 4.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 19
Pre-reform issues, Tabaristan ('Abbasid governors). Yahya b. Mikhnaq. AH 163-165 / AD 779-781. AR Hemidrachm (24mm, 1.98 g, 2h). Tabaristan mint. Dated PYE 129 = AH 164 (AD 780/1). Name of governor before bust / Pellet above second 'T' of mint-name; star to left and crescent to right of flames. Malek 89.2; Album 60 (RR). Choice EF. Rare.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 20
Pre-reform issues, Tabaristan ('Abbasid governors). Nusayr. AH 168 / AD 784/5. AR Hemidrachm (23mm, 2.02 g, 7h). Al-Rayy mint. Dated AH 168 (AD 784/5). Obverse: Name of governor in Arabic before bust; 'pd and nwk' in Pahlavi in margin Reverse: Mint and date in Arabic to left and right of fire-altar. Malek 212; Album L73. Near EF. Rare.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 2 . 21
Pre-reform issues, Tabaristan ('Abbasid governors). Abdallah b. Qahtaba. AH 174-175 / AD 790-791. AR Hemidrachm (23mm, 2.14 g, 9h). TPWRSTAN (Tabaristan) mint. Dated PYE 139 = AH 174 (AD 790/1). Malek 128; Album 70. Toned. Near EF.