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.
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