Watch List notes:

ISLAMIC, Umayyad Caliphate. temp. Mu'awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan, AH 41-60 / AD 661-680. Dirham (Silver, 33 mm, 4.06 g, 9 h), Arab-Sasanian type, citing governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad (AH 54-64 = AD 673-683), BCRA (Basra), AH 56 = AD 675/6. Draped bust resembling Khosrau II to right, wearing elaborate mural crown; behind head, AFZUT GDH ('may his kingship increase' in Pahlawi); before head, AWBYDWLA Y ZYYATAN ('Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad' in Pahlawi); in outer margin, 'bism Allah' ('In the name of Allah'). Rev. Fire altar with ribbons flanked by two attendants; in upper left field, six-pointed star; in upper right field, crescent; to left, date; to right, BCRA (name of the mint in Pahlawi). Album 12. SICA I, 49. Walker, Arab-Sasanian, p. 57, 77. A beautifully toned and well struck example. Extremely fine.


From the collection of J. Knudsen, formed from the late 1970s to the late 1990s.