722 Islamic Coin Umayyad Silver Dirham Yazid II ibn Abdel Malik Al-Wasit 103 AH
Description: A beautiful very fine or much better Umayyad silver dirham struck in 103 AH (722 AD) during the reign of the Caliph Yazid II son of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. Yazid II ruled the Islamic world in the period 101-105 AH (720-724 AD). Yazid's father Abd al-Malik is the Umayyad Caliph responsible for the reformed coinage in the Islamic world. This beautiful coin clearly shows the mint location being al-Wasit and the year of minting being 103 AH. This is a nice coin that is nicely toned. The coin has a pleasing appearance and looks much better than the photos suggest. Please carefully review the photos as they are part and parcel of our description.
Date: Struck 103 AH or 722 AD.
Mint: The coin clearly shows mint location being Al-Wasit in current day Iraq.
Size and Weight: This is a silver dirham, weighs ~2.7 grams and is ~26 mm in diameter.
References: It is Album 135, is listed in Lane Poole Catalogue of the Collection of Arabic Coins Preserved in the Khedivial Library in Cairo Egypt as #196, Wilkes #297, and is listed in al-Ush's Arab Islamic Coins Preserved in the National Museum of Qatar as #980.
Condition: For international buyers, please note that the new US postal rates for overseas shipping are very high and we are unable to change them. Additional charges will be incurred depending on the value of the item. Please check the cost of shipping before bidding. I would grade this coin as very fine or better with a good and well centered strike having beautiful Calligraphy. The coin is nicely toned with great eye appeal. The coin is much better than the photos suggest. It has wear to the high points, but its calligraphy is distinct, sharp and very readable. It also has some minor scratches and some bag marks. Other than that, the coin is problem free and is a nice looking coin which would make a great addition to your Islamic coins collection. Please see photo for additional condition information.
Historic Perspective: The Muslim Arabs used existing gold and silver coinage in lands they conquered. At that time the nascent Islamic nation did not have a monetary system and did not strike neither gold nor silver coins, instead the conquering Arabs used the Byzantine monetary system already existing in Egypt for most of the gold coins and the Sassanian monetary system already existing in Iran for most silver coins with minor modifications. In 77 AH (699 AD) Abd al-Malik Ibn Marwan the Umayyad caliph instituted a monetary system and began striking the first Islamic coins including the gold Dinar and silver dirham. The dinar weighed 4.25 grams, or one mithqal, of the highest purity gold possible. The dirham weighed about 2.85 of the purest possible silver composition, which would maintain a solid coin. At the time the center of power and the main gold coin mint was located in Dimishq (current day Damascus in Syria), while silver coins were minted throughout the Muslim empire.
