Münzen & Medaillen GmbH
Auction 47 23 May 2019
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CRUSADER IMITATIONS OF ARABIC COINS. KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM. Imitations of Damascus Dirhams with Crosses and Archangel Michael for Muhammad. Dirham 643 H., "Dimashq", as above but with a cross intersecting the legends in the marginal segments at the top of the obverse and the bottom of the reverse. In the marginal legend of the reverse the reference to the prophet Muhammad is replaced by the archangel Michael Mikhâ + îl - rasûlu llâh. Balog/Yvon 39; Bates type IIIB; SNATübingen IVa 452. 2.68 g. Very rare, especially with visible crosses.
Very fine
Bought from A.H. Baldwin & Sons Ltd., Numismata München, March 2015.
The relative dating of this coin type was left open by Bates and Metcalf, both of whom considered the Hijrî date 643 H. as a possible option. On the other hand, not to mention the name of the Islamic prophet in a coinage controlled by Christians was one of two demands formulated by the papal legate Eudes de Châteauroux in his search for a reason why God had punished the Catholic Christianity through the lost battle of al-Mansûra in Egypt which had cost the lives of thousands of knights and brought captivity to the king of France. The demand to abolish such sins was formulated by 1250 and sent to Rome, while a formal interdict by the pope followed only in 1251. Subsequently in 1251 new Christian types were introduced and therefore the short period 1250-1251 would correspond well with the existence of a transitional type as Bates type III, and the rarity of these dirhams could be explained by the brevity of the period. In this case the Hijri date should not be regarded as the date of striking, but either as the last date of mutual support of the kingdom of Jerusalem and Damascus or as a date of an unknown contract which enabled the free circulation of such coins in some of the Ayyubid states.
Very fine
Bought from A.H. Baldwin & Sons Ltd., Numismata München, March 2015.
The relative dating of this coin type was left open by Bates and Metcalf, both of whom considered the Hijrî date 643 H. as a possible option. On the other hand, not to mention the name of the Islamic prophet in a coinage controlled by Christians was one of two demands formulated by the papal legate Eudes de Châteauroux in his search for a reason why God had punished the Catholic Christianity through the lost battle of al-Mansûra in Egypt which had cost the lives of thousands of knights and brought captivity to the king of France. The demand to abolish such sins was formulated by 1250 and sent to Rome, while a formal interdict by the pope followed only in 1251. Subsequently in 1251 new Christian types were introduced and therefore the short period 1250-1251 would correspond well with the existence of a transitional type as Bates type III, and the rarity of these dirhams could be explained by the brevity of the period. In this case the Hijri date should not be regarded as the date of striking, but either as the last date of mutual support of the kingdom of Jerusalem and Damascus or as a date of an unknown contract which enabled the free circulation of such coins in some of the Ayyubid states.