Rarest Of Islamic Coins Sells For £3.7 Million In London Auction
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Morton & Eden Umayyad dinar is second most expensive coin ever sold at auction
One of the rarest and most highly-prized of all Islamic gold coins, struck possibly to coincide with an occasion when the Caliph himself led the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, sold for a record £3,720,000 in a sale at specialist auctioneers Morton & Eden in London today. The price makes it the second most expensive coin ever auctioned. (The most expensive is the 1933 Double Eagle sold by Sotheby’s in July 2002 for $7,590,020).
The Umayyad dinar, dated 105h (723AD) was struck from gold mined at a location owned by the Caliph himself - known on the coins as the “Mine of the Commander of the Faithful”. An additional legend which reads: “bi’l-Hijaz” (“in the Hejaz”), makes it the earliest Islamic coin to mention a location in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It had been expected to realise £300,000-400,000, but four bidders in the saleroom sent the price spiraling ever higher. It was purchased by the British trade on behalf of a European private collector.
A second, slightly earlier dinar (92h - 711AD) struck from gold from the same mines sold for £648,000. It had been estimated at £250,000-300,000.
Morton & Eden Islamic coins specialist Stephen Lloyd said: “We are absolutely thrilled and delighted with the results from this sale.read more
The sale raised a total of £6,673,560, against estimates of £886,000-£1.16 million.
23. April 2012
Auction 54: Important Coins of the Islamic World
Unique £1m Islamic coin in London auction
A unique and historically important first dinar believed to have been produced with gold from the “Mine of the Commander of the Faithful” is expected to sell for up to £1 million in a sale of Islamic coins at specialist London auctioneers Morton & Eden. The sale is on April 23.
For further information, contact Stephen Lloyd or Tom Eden on 020 7493 5344 or info@mortonandeden.com.
Morton & Eden Ltd., are specialist auctioneers of Collectors’ Coins of all periods and types, War Medals, Orders and Decorations, Historical Medals and Banknotes. The company was founded in 2001 by James Morton and Tom Eden, who were both directors of the Coins and Medals Department at Sotheby’s, with whom the company maintains a close association.
Morton & Eden, GB-London
One of the rarest and most highly-prized of all Islamic gold coins, struck possibly to coincide with an occasion when the Caliph himself led the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, sold for a record £3,720,000 in a sale at specialist auctioneers Morton & Eden in London today. The price makes it the second most expensive coin ever auctioned. (The most expensive is the 1933 Double Eagle sold by Sotheby’s in July 2002 for $7,590,020).
The Umayyad dinar, dated 105h (723AD) was struck from gold mined at a location owned by the Caliph himself - known on the coins as the “Mine of the Commander of the Faithful”. An additional legend which reads: “bi’l-Hijaz” (“in the Hejaz”), makes it the earliest Islamic coin to mention a location in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It had been expected to realise £300,000-400,000, but four bidders in the saleroom sent the price spiraling ever higher. It was purchased by the British trade on behalf of a European private collector.
A second, slightly earlier dinar (92h - 711AD) struck from gold from the same mines sold for £648,000. It had been estimated at £250,000-300,000.
Morton & Eden Islamic coins specialist Stephen Lloyd said: “We are absolutely thrilled and delighted with the results from this sale.read more
The sale raised a total of £6,673,560, against estimates of £886,000-£1.16 million.
23. April 2012
Auction 54: Important Coins of the Islamic World
Unique £1m Islamic coin in London auction
A unique and historically important first dinar believed to have been produced with gold from the “Mine of the Commander of the Faithful” is expected to sell for up to £1 million in a sale of Islamic coins at specialist London auctioneers Morton & Eden. The sale is on April 23.
For further information, contact Stephen Lloyd or Tom Eden on 020 7493 5344 or info@mortonandeden.com.
Morton & Eden Ltd., are specialist auctioneers of Collectors’ Coins of all periods and types, War Medals, Orders and Decorations, Historical Medals and Banknotes. The company was founded in 2001 by James Morton and Tom Eden, who were both directors of the Coins and Medals Department at Sotheby’s, with whom the company maintains a close association.
Morton & Eden, GB-London
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Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
<< <i>Damn - got outbid at the last minute
No worries. I got 3 in the SDB. I'll sell you one at a friend's price.
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
It's probably under my couch cushion.....