Scarce Islamic Coin Umayyad Silver Dirham Ibrahim bin al-Walid 127 AH Wasit Iraq
Description: Scarce Umayyad silver dirham struck in 127 AH (745 AD) during the reign of the Caliph Ibrahim ibn al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik. Ibrahim ruled the Islamic world in the period 126-1127 AH (744-745 AD). His father was al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik, with his grandfather Abd al-Malik being the Umayyad Caliph responsible for the reformed coinage in the Islamic world. This beautiful very fine or much better coin clearly shows the mint location being Wasit in Iraq and the year of minting being 127 AH. The coin comes in a plastic slab by NGC with the designation GENUINE. A beautiful coin with a nice toned appearance. Please carefully review the scan as it is part and parcel of our description.
Date: Struck 127 AH or 745 AD.
Mint: The coin clearly shows mint location being Wasit in current day Iraq.
Size and weight: This is a silver dirham that is ~24 mm in diameter. References: It is Album 140 and is listed in Lane Poole Catalogue of the Collection of Arabic Coins Preserved in the Khedivial Library in Cairo Egypt as number 198.
Condition: The coin comes in a plastic slab by NGC and has the designation GENUINE. I would grade this coin as a good very fine or much better with a well centered strike and beautiful Calligraphy. The coin has a few scratches and some minor bag marks. The coin is nicely toned and has some wear, but still with great eye appeal and very readable. The coin is much better than the photos suggest. It is a nice-looking coin worthy of a spot in your 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.
