Islamic Auction 3
Date: 2023-04-27 00:00:00
Lots: 270
Total starting: $ 0.00
Total realized: $ 0.00 (+0.00%)
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Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 85
'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Mahdi. AH 158-169 / AD 775-785. AR Dirham (24mm, 2.91 g, 3h). Al-Yamama mint. Dated AH 166 (AD 782/3). Obverse: four pairs of annulets in margin / Reverse: citing Hajjar in bottom line of field. Lowick 574. Cleaned. Good VF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 86
'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Rashid. AH 170-193 / AD 786-809. AV Dinar (17.6mm, 3.93 g, 9h). Without mint-name. Dated AH 170 (AD 786/7). Reverse field: Muhammad rasul Allah / mimma amr bihi 'Abd Allah / Harun amir al-mu'minin. Bernardi 58b; Lowick 363; Album 218.1. Edge shaved. Near VF. Extremely rare, only three examples recorded by Bernardi. This is the earliest 'Abbasid dinar to bear the name of the caliph, issued on Harun al-Rashid's accession.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 87
'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Rashid. AH 170-193 / AD 786-809. AV Dinar (17.3mm, 4.04 g, 12h). Without mint-name. Dated AH 171 (AD 787/8). Reverse field: Muhammad rasul Allah / mimma amr bihi 'Abd Allah / Harun amir al-mu'minin. Bernardi 58b; Lowick 366; Album 218.1. Minor edge marks. Near VF. Rare.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 88
'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Rashid. AH 170-193 / AD 786-809. AV Dinar (18.4mm, 4.09 g, 12h). Without mint-name. Dated AH 184 (AD 800/1). Anonymous type, without name of caliph, heir, or governor. Bernardi 51; Album 218.3A (not recorded for this date); Lowick 389. Edge shaved. Near EF. Rare. Ex Stephen Album Rare Coins 42 (20 January 2022), lot 141.This anonymous type is rare for the middle years of Harun's caliphate, when most dinars bear the name of an heir or a governor.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 89
'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Rashid. AH 170-193 / AD 786-809. AR Half-Dirham (19.9mm, 1.55 g, 2h). San'a mint. Dated AH 183 (AD 799/800). Obverse: six large annulets in outer margin / Reverse: Hammad - Barbar above and below field. Cf. SICA 10, 213 (dated AH 185); cf. Lowick 546 (apparently without the name of Hammad Barbari); cf. Album 1048.2 (full dirhams of this type). Good VF. Extremely rare, especially in this condition. Hammad al-Barbari was originally a slave of the caliph Harun al-Rashid, who was freed when Harun became caliph. His cognomen al-Barbari refers to his Berber heritage, and he was reportedly born in Tunis. Al-Tabari reports that Hammad al-Barbari held the governorship of Mecca and the Yemen in AH 184, but the present coin, which appears to be unpublished, supports Ya'qub's statement that he had in fact been appointed to this post some five years previously. Dirhams were struck at San'a in AH 180 which name 'Abdallah b. Mus'ab (SICA 10, 212), but while Lowick records dirhams from San'a for the years AH 181-184, these either lacked governors' names or were too poorly preserved for these to be legible. Nevertheless, the present coin confirms that Hammad was certainly in post by AH 183, and the numismatic evidence is consistent with Ya 'qubi's assertion that his appointment took place circa AH 180. Al-Barbari held the governorship of Mecca and Yemen for some thirteen years. During his long tenure he successfully maintained order in the region and kept its important trade routes secure, but his rule was noted for its harshness and cruelty, so that the Yemenis petitioned Harun al-Rashid to remove Hammad from office. Nevertheless, it seems that al-Barbari remained in post and in favour until the end of Harun's caliphate, since we hear of him attending the caliph at court in Baghdad early in the year AH 192 (it seems that a temporary governor took charge in Yemen during his absence), while he is still named on coins issued at San'a in AH 193. Hammad al-Barbari's son, Muhammad, served as a military commander to al-Amin during the civil war which followed Harun al-Rashid's death.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 90
'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Rashid. AH 170-193 / AD 786-809. AR Dirham (24.2mm, 2.84 g, 10h). Dimashq mint. Dated AH 189 (AD 804/5). Reverse field: Muhammad rasul / Allah salla Allah 'alayhi wa salam / mimma amr bihi al-Ma'mun / letter ha. Lowick 602; Album 219.10a. Minor graffiti in reverse field. VF. Extremely rare. Although struck during the caliphate of Harun al-Rashid, the only individual named on this dirham is his son and joint-heir, al-Ma'mun.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 91
'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Rashid. AH 170-193 / AD 786-809. Lead Seal (23.1mm, 21.40 g). In margin: (anticlockwise from top): [......] Umm - Muhammad 'Abd Allah bint amir al-mu' - minin Umm Ja'far - amil amir al-mu'minin (a partial and provisional reading) / In centre: sanat thalatha / wa tisa'in wa mi'at. Some deposit. VF. Extremely rare.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 92
'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Amin (?). AH 193-199 / AD 809-813. Square bronze seal matrix (16.2mm, 2.54 g). Kufic inscription reading: la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah, la [...] mawla al-Amin . VF. Rare. The final words read here as mawla al-Amin can also be interpreted as the more generic mawla al-amir.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 93
'Abbasid Caliphate, n/a. n/a. temp. Al-Ma'mun. AH 194-218 / AD 808-833. AV Dinar (19.2mm, 3.96 g, 10h). Madinat al-Salam mint. Dated AH 198 (AD 813/4). Obverse field: la ilaha illa / Allah wahdahu / la sharik lahu / Madinat al-Salam / Reverse field: lillah / Muhammad / rasul / Allah / Dhu'l-Riyasatayn. Bernardi 99Jh; Lowick 176; Album 222.2. Light deposit, scattered marks in fields. VF. Rare. Ex Baldwin's Islamic Coin Auction 24 (9 May 2013), lot 4255 and Emirates Coin Auction 1 (Dubai, 21 March 1999), lot 182..This rare one-year type is the earliest 'Abbasid dinar to bear a full mint-name. It was struck to mark al-Ma'mun's capture of Baghdad from his brother and rival, al-Amin. Dhu'l-Riyasatayn, meaning 'Holder of the Two Ministries,' was the title of al-Fadl b. Sahl, al-Ma'mun's Persian minister.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 94
'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Ma'mun. AH 194-218 / AD 808-833. AR Dirham (25.9mm, 3.06 g, 2h). Samarqand mint. Dated AH 202 (AD 817/8). Citing the Shi'ite 'Ali b. Musa al-Rida as caliphal heir. Lowick 2678; SICA 3, 912-3; SCC 1165; Album 224. Minor spotting. Good VF. Rare.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 95
'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Ma'mun. AH 194-218 / AD 808-833. AV Dinar (18.5mm, 4.30 g, 11h). Without mint-name. Dated AH 205 (AD 821/2). Reverse: lillah above field. Bernardi 109; Album 222.14. EF. From the collection of the late Dr. M.F.W. Al Katib.Bernardi assigns these anonymous coins with lillah above the obverse field to the mint of Madinat al-Salam. This type was issued between AH 204-208.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 96
'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Mutawakkil. AH 232-247 / AD 847-861. AV Donative Dinar (23mm, 4.25 g, 11h). Medallion type with broad margins. Surra man ra'a mint. Dated AH 245 (AD 859/60). Obverse field: citing the caliphal heir al-Mu'tazz in fourth line. Bernardi 158Jc (this date not recorded); cf. Morton & Eden 89 (25 October 2017), lot 35 (same obverse die). Scuff on name of al-Mu'tazz in obverse field. VF. Extremely rare.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 97
'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Mutawakkil. AH 232-247 / AD 847-861. AV Dinar (16.9mm, 4.20 g, 12h). Al-Basra mint. Dated AH 247 (AD 861/2). Bernardi 158Je; Album 229.3. Old scuff in reverse field. Good VF. Very rare, only two specimens recorded by Bernardi.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 98
'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Mutawakkil. AH 232-247 / AD 847-861. AV Dinar (16.3mm, 4.23 g, 6h). Samarqand mint. Dated AH 247 (AD 861/2). Citing the heir al-Mu'tazz. Bernardi 158Qe; Album 229.3. Minor marks. Near VF. It seems that dinars issued during AH 247, the final year of al-Mutawakkil's reign, were struck on narrower, thicker flans approximately 16mm in diameter. Similar small-flan dinars were issued under his successor, al-Muntasir, but the practice appears to have been abandoned soon afterwards. No explanation has been advanced for this curious phenomenon.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 99
'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Mu'tazz. AH 251-255 / AD 865-869. AV Dinar (20.3mm, 4.35 g, 11h). Surra man ra'a mint. Dated AH 251 (AD 865/6). Bernardi 162Jc; Album 235.1. Small scuff in reverse margin at 10h. Near EF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 100
'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Mu'tamid. AH 256-279 / AD 870-892. AV Dinar (25mm, 4.09 g, 11h). Al-Basra mint. Dated AH 271 (AD 884/5). In fourth and fifth lines of obverse field: al-Muwaffaq billah / al-Nasir li-din Allah / In sixth line of reverse field: Dhu'l-Wizaratayn (laqab of the vizier Sa'id b. Makhlad). Bernardi 179Je; Kazan 164; Album 239.6. Traces of mounting at 12h on obverse. VF. Extremely rare, only three specimens recorded by Bernardi.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 101
'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Mu'tamid. AH 256-279 / AD 870-892. AV Dinar (22.9mm, 4.57 g, 11h). Madinat al-Salam mint. Dated AH 274 (AD 887/8). Obverse field: al-nasir li-din Allah / al-Muwaffaq billah in fourth and fifth lines / Reverse field: Ahmad b. al-Muwaffaq in sixth line. Bernardi 184Jh; Album 239.7. With contemporary loop-mount attached. VF. Extremely rare, only two examples recorded by Bernardi.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 102
'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Mu'tamid. AH 256-279 / AD 870-892. AV Dinar (18.3mm, 4.22 g, 11h). Without mint-name. Dated AH 275 (AD 888/9). Obverse: citing al-Muwaffaq billah in fourth line of field. Bernardi 177 = Cairo 1322. Minor weakness in margins, some deposit. Good VF. Excessively rare, only a single specimen recorded by Bernardi. For reasons which remain unclear, al-Mu'tamid issued mintless dinars in the years AH 273-275. All three dates are extremely rare. The only other mintless dinars then being issued were struck by the Amirs of Crete, for whom dinars are known dated AH 270-273 and 275. This gives a convenient window between AH 273-275 when these mintless dinars might have been struck. Although these coins all name al-Muwaffaq, the caliph's brother, who is normally only cited on issues from the Eastern half of the 'Abbasid lands, we know that al-Muwaffaq was in fact in the West at this time, campaigning unsuccessfully against the Tulunids in Egypt in AH 273.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 103
'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Mu'tamid. AH 256-279 / AD 870-892. AV Dinar (21.5mm, 4.02 g, 10h). Jannaba mint. Dated AH 275 (AD 888/9). Obverse field: la ilaha illa / Allah wahdahu / la sharik lahu / al-Nasir li-din Allah / al-Muwaffaq billah / Reverse field: lillah / Muhammad / rasul / Allah / al-Mu'tamid 'ala'llah / Ahmad b. al-Muwaffaq billah. Cf. Bernardi type 184 (unrecorded for this mint). Good VF. Excessively rare, an unpublished mint for 'Abbasid gold. This is the first year in which coins are known to have been struck at Jannaba. and is the only year for which 'Abbasid dinars from this mint are known. Jannaba is a port-city on the Persian Gulf. It was evidently under 'Abbasid control in the year AH 267, when the caliph's brother, al-Muwaffaq, ordered the shipwrights of Jannaba to build flat-bottomed boats for use in his campaigns against the Zanj (al-Tabari 1997). From AH 275-286, however, numismatic evidence indicates that Jannaba was under the control of the Saffarid ruler, 'Amr b. al-Layth.Both 'Abbasid and Saffarid types were struck there in this year, in silver as well as gold. It seems likely that the 'Abbasid issues were struck first and that Jannaba came under Saffarid control later in the year, because the legends on the Saffarid dirhams and dinars copy the 'Abbasid types apart from the addition of 'Amr b. al-Layth's name below that of al-Muwaffaq in the obverse field. Al-Tabari briefly mentions that the caliph sent a military force against 'Amr b. al-Layth in AH 274, and it seems likely that a mint was set up at Jannaba during this campaign. While the 'Abbasids began striking silver dirhams at Jannaba during the reign of al-Muqtadir, and examples are known for most years from AH 299 onwards, no gold dinars of Jannaba from this reign are known. The cataloguer is aware of one other 'Abbasid dinar of Jannaba dated AH 275, struck from the same dies as the present coin, which is currently in a private collection.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 104
'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Mu'tadid. AH 279-289 / AD 892-902. AV Dinar (21.3mm, 4.12 g, 2h). Nisibin mint. Dated AH 283 (AD 896/7). Bernardi 211Hg. Faint traces of past ring-mounting. Good VF, light deposit. Excessively rare, only one specimen recorded by Bernardi.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Islamic Auction 3 . 105
'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Mu'tadid. AH 279-289 / AD 892-902. AV Dinar (22.6mm, 4.94 g, 1h). Al-Rafiqa mint. Dated AH 284 (AD 897/8). Bernardi 211Hn = Artuk 389; Album 241. Good VF. Extremely rare, only a single specimen recorded by Bernardi.