Nomos AG
Auction 17 26 Oct 2018
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ISLAMIC, Umayyad Caliphate. 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, AH 65-86 / CE 685-705. Fals (Bronze, 20 mm, 3.08 g, 6 h), overstruck on a clearly visible follis of Constantine I, minted in Rome in 317, Homs, c. AH 72-77 / 692-697. 'abd allah 'abd al-malik amīr al mu'minīn Standing figure of bearded Caliph facing (overstruck on the original coin's reverse). Rev. lā ilaha illā allah waḥdahu muḥammad rasūl allah. Tall Φ on base and three steps; in field to left, star of six points; in field to right, mint name, bi-ḥimṣ (overstruck on the original coin's obverse). DOC 108-110. Cf. Goodwin, 437 (overstruck on a follis of Contantine I from Arelate of 316/37). Extremely rare with a clearly visible undertype. Dark patina. Extremely fine.
From a German collection.
While the standing Caliph issues of 'Abd al-Malik are well-known, an example overstruck on a Roman coin, issued over 350 years earlier, is quite simply spectacular! With most coins that were struck on flans made from earlier coins it is usually difficult to identify the under-types, since, at best, they are only partially visible. Sometimes all we can say is that there are traces of original types underneath the present ones (perhaps the best known series of coins that are over-struck on other issues are those of Bar Kochba: the under-types range from invisible/unidentifiable to perfectly clear). The present coin not only has a very visible under-type, but that type can be fully identified: it is a follis struck in the name of Constantine I in Rome in 317 (as RIC VII, p. 307, 78; obverse: IMP CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Laureate bust of Constantine to right; reverse: SOLI INV[ICT]O [C]OM[ITI] /*/RP Sol). Most interestingly, Goodwin's research has revealed that during this period the mint of Homs (more properly Ḥimṣ used a number of Constantinian folles as flans: mostly for the Imperial Bust type, but also for Standing Caliph issues (Standing Caliph 437 - overstruck on a follis dating to 316/7 from Arelate - is the only other known example). This would suggest that the mint must have acquired a fairly substantial hoard of Constantinian folles to use as flans: such a hoard might well have been hidden during the civil war between Constantine I and Licinius I in 324. The writer would like to thank A. Goodwin for his invaluable help with this coin. Any mistakes or misinterpretations in this description are wholly my own.
From a German collection.
While the standing Caliph issues of 'Abd al-Malik are well-known, an example overstruck on a Roman coin, issued over 350 years earlier, is quite simply spectacular! With most coins that were struck on flans made from earlier coins it is usually difficult to identify the under-types, since, at best, they are only partially visible. Sometimes all we can say is that there are traces of original types underneath the present ones (perhaps the best known series of coins that are over-struck on other issues are those of Bar Kochba: the under-types range from invisible/unidentifiable to perfectly clear). The present coin not only has a very visible under-type, but that type can be fully identified: it is a follis struck in the name of Constantine I in Rome in 317 (as RIC VII, p. 307, 78; obverse: IMP CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Laureate bust of Constantine to right; reverse: SOLI INV[ICT]O [C]OM[ITI] /*/RP Sol). Most interestingly, Goodwin's research has revealed that during this period the mint of Homs (more properly Ḥimṣ used a number of Constantinian folles as flans: mostly for the Imperial Bust type, but also for Standing Caliph issues (Standing Caliph 437 - overstruck on a follis dating to 316/7 from Arelate - is the only other known example). This would suggest that the mint must have acquired a fairly substantial hoard of Constantinian folles to use as flans: such a hoard might well have been hidden during the civil war between Constantine I and Licinius I in 324. The writer would like to thank A. Goodwin for his invaluable help with this coin. Any mistakes or misinterpretations in this description are wholly my own.