Nice 746 AD Islamic Coin Umayyad Silver Dirham Wasit Mint Marwan II 128 AH VF++
Description: Umayyad silver dirham struck in 128 AH (746 AD) during the reign of the Caliph Marwan ibn Mohammed ibn Marwan I, known simply as Marwan II. He is the fourteenth and last caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. He ruled the Muslim world in the period 127 AH - 132 AH (744 until he was killed in 750 AD). The coin was struck in Wasit in current day Iraq. A beautiful coin with well centered strike and very readable calligraphy. Please carefully view the photos as they are part and parcel of our description.
Date: Struck 128 AH or 746 AD.
Mint: The coin clearly shows Wasit as the mint.
Size and weight: This is a silver dirham, weighs 2.7 grams and is ~25 mm in diameter.
References: It is Album 142, listed in Lane Poole Catalogue of the Collection of Arabic Coins Preserved in the Khedivial Library in Cairo Egypt as number 127, and is Wilkes as #297. Condition: I would grade this coin as very fine or better with a well centered strike and beautiful Calligraphy. The coin has a few surface marks and areas of embeded soiling especially on the right side of the obverse. The coin also has some minor surface marks and bag marks. Be that as it may the coin is beautiful and is much better than the scan suggests. A nice example to add to your collection. Please see photos to appreciate the quality of the coin and 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. The dinar weighed 4.25 grams, or one mithqal, of the highest purity gold possible. At the time the center of power and the main gold coin mint was located in Dimishq (current day Damascus in Syria).
