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To participate in the forum you must log in or register. | Author |
 Replies: 7 / Views: 2,364 |
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Pillar of the Community
Poland
3201 Posts |
Below are three Ayyubid coins. If so, they should be from the 12th or 13th century AD. All are for sale, same price, same seller. Seller's images at max resolution.  Unfortunately, they are not described in detail. And as they have parts of the inscriptions that are not fully visible, and other description of such coins include data such as a date, I'd like to ask if they can be fully identified: - where are the dates located and are they legible (if so, what are they)? - where is the ruler's name and what is it? - do such coins say where they were minted? And more general: - are the inscriptions within the star-shaped ornament the same on all three, the writing looks different but is that just a case of a different style? - which of these would be considered to be in the best condition? What would matter in assessing a grade of such coins? |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
I have always found such coins a bit of a puzzle, I don't read the writing which makes it a it painful (pretty sure the inscriptions are different BTW) but I am sure someone here will be able to read or at least have some information on them.
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Moderator
 United States
34428 Posts |
@dl20k and @daviduk, if you are interested in pursuing these coins (a move that I greatly support), I strongly recommend picking up a copy of "arabic coins and how to read them" by Richard Plant. I'm sure there must be many similar books out there, but this little guy has served me very well, despite my typically American monolinguism.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
34428 Posts |
Specific to these hexagram Ayyubid dirhams, there are two basic regions on each face. On the obv (left image on the top and middle coins, but right image on the bottom coin), the middle of the face contains the Caliph's name. Along the perimeter (in the angles) is the Kalima. On the rev, the middle inscription is the name of the sultan. I could dig a little to narrow it down as all three of these coins are from the same sultan. At the moment, all I can tell you is that it isn't Saladin (1169 to 1193 AD). Finally, the perimeter inscription has the mint (bi-Halab or "in Aleppo"), along with the date in long hand. I'm pretty sure that the mint is in the top two edge inscriptions, which means that the lower four are devoted to the date.
I'm still in the learning process on this stuff and so would welcome any corrections or amplifications from others here in CCF.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
 Poland
3201 Posts |
DavidUK, I can't read them either and while the first two central inscriptions seemed the same or at least similar to me at first glance, I wasn't at all certain about the third one. Even if the seller switched the obverse and the reverse. It looks even more different, so to say. But as our own script can be made to look completely illegible (e.g. the script used by the Germans during the 1930s (not the Gothic script, the handwriting style often used back then), who am I to make assumptions about these!
Spence, thank you for explaining them. If the date and mint are on the reverses (which are the right, right, and left images respectively), that should make the 1st coin fully indentifiable, the 2nd probably not, and the 3rd probably identifiable unless the weakness on the right is in a crucial place (as in: the end of the date).
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Moderator
United States
34428 Posts |
Quote:
that should make the 1st coin fully indentifiable Sure. Do you want to give it a shot and I'll see if I agree with your translation? "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
Poland
3201 Posts |
Well.. Although your explanation as to what inscription is where certainly is helpful, it doesn't change the fact that I can't read them  For example, I do not know which part of the date is where, or how would the numerals look when spelled out. Is there a table showing that? For #2 - I found an at least similar piece at MA-Shops, also unidentifiable as to the exact date. https://www.ma-shops.de/saenn/item.php5?id=18005They described it as bearing the name of Caliph Al-Musta'sim Billah (1242-1258 AD). For #3 - I found a nearly exact match (both central and at perhaps as many as 11/12 of the marginal seem to be the same, except for the left photo/right side that's nearly illegible on our specimen). http://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?photo=172440It is described as "al-'Adil Abu Bakr I". Though that's the Sultan, not the Caliph, thus further identification is needed - am I right here? What bothers me is that I found "six-pointed star type, no overlord and without mention of caliph" coins of this type mentioned, and they still had inscriptions inside the hexagrams... Fifth from the top here: http://www.zeno.ru/showgallery.php?cat=4873What would that mean? |
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Pillar of the Community
Poland
3201 Posts |
So, does anyone have an idea as to the ID and also the last question above this post?
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Replies: 7 / Views: 2,364 |
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Posted 09/20/2016 7:56 pm
