Islamic Coin Umayyad Silver Dirham Hisham bin Abdel Malik 122 AH Wasit Iraq VF++
Description: Umayyad silver dirham struck in 122 AH (740 AD) during the reign of the Caliph Hisham Ibn Abd al-Malik. Hisham ruled the Islamic world in the period 105-125 AH (724-743 AD). His father Abd al-Malik is the Umayyad Caliph responsible for the reformed coinage in the Islamic world. This beautiful very fine or better coin clearly shows the mint location being Wasit in Iraq and the year of minting being 122 AH. The coin is nicely toned and has nice eye appeal. Please carefully review the photos presented as they are part and parcel of our description.
Date: Struck 122 AH or 740 AD.
Mint: The coin clearly shows mint location being Wasit in current day Iraq.
Size and weight: This is a silver dirham, weighs ~2.8 grams and is ~25 mm in diameter.
References: It is Album 137, is listed in Lane Poole Catalogue of the Collection of Arabic Coins Preserved in the Khedivial Library in Cairo Egypt as number 225 and 226, and is listed in Wilkes as number 297.
Condition: I would grade this coin as a good very fine or better with a well centered strike and beautiful Calligraphy. The coin has nice toning with nice eye appeal. The coin has a few minor scratches and surface marks but other than that is problem free and looks much better than the photos suggest. It has wear commensurate with coin's age and circulated state. A nice and great looking coin to add to your collection. 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 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 compositions, 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.
