Post a coin from the Muslim World!
spoon
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I know there are a lot of collectors of this area. But I never see much mention of it on the forums. So, let's take a step away from all the pretty European stuff and do something different 
It doesn't have to be from the caliphate period, or even Arabic, and pre-Islamic stuff is always interesting.
Since most folks can't decipher the squigglies, please tell us what you're posting!
So, let's see what you've got. I'll start:
Sassanid Empire, Khusru II, Regnal year 33 / AD 622, Darabgird (DA) mint, abt 33mm
Not minted under an Islamic government, this is from the Persian empire at the time of Mohammed. Sassanid and Byzantine coins lightly circulated in Arabia at the time though most commerce was through a barter system. The types of Khusru II were imitated by later early Islamic authorities usually with added inscriptions. The reverse is a stylized Zoroastrian fire altar with the date on left and mint on right. This one is from the year of the Hajj, AH 1 / 622 AD.
Abbasid Caliphate, Harun al-Rashid, silver dinar, Baghdad, 21mm
Unfortunately I don't remember much on the coin itself, have to look it up again! I'm fairly certain it was Baghdad mint. Harun al-Rashid was an interesting character in an interesting time. He was a contemporary of Charlemagne, a famous story being al-Rashid's gift of a clock to Charlemagne. His reign (786-809) was during a golden period of Islamic thought and art. The stories of 1001 Nights mostly occur (fictionally) in his court and he himself is mentioned.
It doesn't have to be from the caliphate period, or even Arabic, and pre-Islamic stuff is always interesting.
Since most folks can't decipher the squigglies, please tell us what you're posting!
So, let's see what you've got. I'll start:
Sassanid Empire, Khusru II, Regnal year 33 / AD 622, Darabgird (DA) mint, abt 33mm
Not minted under an Islamic government, this is from the Persian empire at the time of Mohammed. Sassanid and Byzantine coins lightly circulated in Arabia at the time though most commerce was through a barter system. The types of Khusru II were imitated by later early Islamic authorities usually with added inscriptions. The reverse is a stylized Zoroastrian fire altar with the date on left and mint on right. This one is from the year of the Hajj, AH 1 / 622 AD.
Abbasid Caliphate, Harun al-Rashid, silver dinar, Baghdad, 21mm
Unfortunately I don't remember much on the coin itself, have to look it up again! I'm fairly certain it was Baghdad mint. Harun al-Rashid was an interesting character in an interesting time. He was a contemporary of Charlemagne, a famous story being al-Rashid's gift of a clock to Charlemagne. His reign (786-809) was during a golden period of Islamic thought and art. The stories of 1001 Nights mostly occur (fictionally) in his court and he himself is mentioned.
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Afghanistan, 10 pul, 1937
My wantlist & references
Syrian Lira AH1369-1950
.6800 silver
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
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DPOTD 3
<< <i>Egypt 1277/4 (1863) one year type 4 para
D, what are those 4 paras worth these days?
Nasr-e Din did not enjoy his 50th year, thanks to a spiritual ancestor of today's rowdy boys.
Nasr-e Din Shah Qajar during happier times (a Wyon medal, but theme appropriate):
How about this for a liion? Actually, this old Persian motif that became the symbol of modern imperial Persia (later, Iran) is one of my most favorite themes:
DPOTD
I was looking at Byzantine coins for sale on Ebay and found this one.
I knew nothing about it but it looked interesting.
Abd al-Malik was the caliph (king) of the Islamic Umayyad forces which took over the
Middle East from the Byzantine (Roman) Empire. He reigned from AD 685 to 705.
He had these coins made around AD 693 to 697.
More information:
http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=6&threadid=695061
The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
Coins in Movies
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Mac, the last one I bought was over 12 months ago and in all honesty ,I'm not the type of collector who keeps precise lists of items bought and sold.
I have kept one (as a memento) that is housed in a special made acrylic case, a virtually full red example, but I don't have images of it. I liked the idea that someone went to such length for storing this inexpensive coin.
Regarding the dating, the western date of this 4 para is 1864 according to Krause. Ottoman dating starts with each new monarch's (in this case Abdul Aziz) accession date followed by 1,2,3 and so on, but it's a bit tricky because they use the lunar year of 354 days. A common mistake to avoid is that there is no year zero.
Here's an Egyptian 10 para from AH1277 year 7 (1867). The denomination is at the bottom of the obverse ,and the date is on the reverse ,with the accession date at the bottom and the regnal year at the top. A quick way to distinguish Turkish from Egyptian coins of the same era, is that on the former, the date is on the obverse, right below the Tughra and the denomination is at the reverse. For comparison purposes, I'm posting a Turkish proof 10 para 1277/4 right below.
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DPOTD 3
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DPOTD 3
I paid about BV ($20 - they only weigh 0.6g) for my Sultan Ahmad II (1346-1383) specimen.
Great coins.
is that you end up being governed by inferiors. – Plato
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DPOTD 3
You can see some photos of Kelantan's current gold coins here,which includes a picture of the 1/4 Dinar like the one in my collection (which will be scanned & uploaded into my galleries in due course after my computer's original power box has been rebuilt).
Aidan.
Tripolis, Phoenicia (now the city of Tripoli, in Lebanon), bronze coin from during the Roman period (I think it's emperor Elagabalus, circa 220 AD) and depicting the local temple of Astarte.
From the "definitely wasn't Muslim when this coin was made but it definitely is now" category:
Sabaean Kingdom (now in the Yemen area of the Arabian peninsula), drachm, with a design imitative of the Athenian "owl" tetradrachms, except for the distinctive denomination-mark letter on Athena's cheek. Circa 200 BC.
From the "isn't Muslim now, but it used to be" category:
Mughal Empire of India, Emperor Shah Jahan (the guy who built the Taj Mahal) silver rupee dated Year 7 of his reign (1633 AD), Lahore mint (now in Pakistan).
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded the DPOTD twice.
The dagger theme is found again on this Rial from Muscat & Oman. Notice the palms and SHIPS around the outside border.
DPOTD
You can find some press releases here.Unfortunately,there's some dead links leading off that page.I've sent an email to try & get some information,but I haven't had a reply yet.
Aidan.
<< <i>The Malaysian state of Kelentan joined the movement to resurrect the Islamic gold dinar as an international standard, and has minted coins of the same weight and fineness. >>
I know about Kelantan's gold coin issues,as I have an example of the AH1427 (2006) 1/4 Dinar from that part of Malaysia.
Have a read here.
It's a shame that there's nothing like that for the Kedahan issue though.
Aidan.