722 Islamic Coin Umayyad Silver Dirham Yazid II bin Abdel Malik 103 AH Dimishq

Description: Umayyad silver dirham struck in 103 AH (722 AD) during the reign of the Caliph Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik. Yazid II ruled the Islamic world in the period 101-105 AH (720-724 AD). His father Abd al-Malik is the Umayyad Caliph responsible for the reformed coinage in the Islamic world. This nice fine or much better coin clearly shows the mint location being Dimishq and the year of minting being 103 AH. The coin has a dark toning but has very nice and readable calligraphy. Please carefully review the scan as it is part and parcel of our description.

Date: Struck 103 AH or 722 AD.

Mint: The coin clearly shows mint location being Dimishq.

Size and weight: This is a silver dirham, weighs ~2.7 grams and is ~26 mm in diameter.

References: It is Album 135, Wilkes 297, and is listed in Al-Ush book titled Arab Islamic Coins Preserved in The National Museum of Qatar as number 795.

Condition: I would grade this coin as a good very fine or much better with a well centered strike and beautiful and readable Calligraphy. The coin has dark toning (much darker than the photos suggest) and shows even and honest wear. It has some surface marks, such as scratches and bag marks. Be that as it may, it is a nice looking coin, which would make a great addition to your collection. Please see photo 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 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 in Dimishq (current day Damascus in Syria), while silver coins were minted throughout the Muslim empire.