Umayyad Gold Dinar al-Walid 94 AH 713 AD Good Very Fine or Better

Description: Umayyad Gold Dinar struck in 94 AH (713 AD) during the reign of the Caliph al-Walid Ibn Abd al-Malik. Al-Walid ruled the Islamic world in the period 86-96 AH (705-715 AD). His father Abd al-Malik is the Umayyad Caliph responsible for the reformed coinage in the Islamic world. Please carefully review the scan as it is part and parcel of our description.

Date: Struck 94 AH or 713 AD.

Mint: Not mentioned on the coin, but known to be Dimishq or Damascus in current day Syria.

Size and Weight: This is a gold dinar, weighs ~4.2 grams and is ~19.5 mm in diameter.

References: It is Album 127, Bernardi 43, is listed in Lane Poole Catalogue of the Collection of Arabic Coins Preserved in the Khedivial Library in Cairo Egypt as number 20 and is listed in Kazan as #19.

Condition: I would grade this coin as a good very fine or better with a slightly off strike and some light double striking on the reverse. Be that as it may, the coin has beautiful and very readable Calligraphy. It does show minor wear but other than that it is problem free and looks much better than the scan shows. It is just great looking coin. Please see photo to appreciate the quality and condition of this beautiful coin.

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).