Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Islamic Auction 1 25 May 2022
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Umayyad Caliphate. temp. 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. AH 65-86 / AD 685-705. Anonymous. AR Drachm (31.0mm, 4.14g, 9h). KRMAN-GRM (Garmshir) mint. Dated AH 70 / AD 689/90. Obverse margin: - / bismillah wali / al-amr / -. MHMT PGTAMYY DAT, 'Muhammad is the Messenger of God', before bust in place of governor's name. Malek p. 151; SCC 123. Cleaned. Near EF. Extremely rare.
This remarkable type, on which the governor's name is replaced by a Pahlawi version of the Arabic Muhammad rasul Allah, is only known for drachms issued at GRM-KRMAN in this year. Coins were struck in Garmshir citing 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr from AH 65-70, and in the name of 'Atiya b. al-Aswad between AH 70 and AH 72, and these anonymous types were apparently issued during a brief interregnum between the two. It appears that the obverse die on this coin was modified during its lifetime, with the second part of the marginal legend changed to read wali al-amr. Only traces of the undertype are visible, but it appears to be consistent with the Pahlawi BPL - GDH legend seen on coins of Ibn al-Zubayr. A similar change is visible on another specimen, struck from different dies (The New York Sale XIV, 10 January 2007, lot 498). This suggests that the first of these anonymous drachms may have been issued by adherents of Ibn al-Zubayr, but as they lacked his name it was felt acceptable for 'Atiya b. al-Aswad to continue using the dies on his becoming governor, subject to this small modification of the obverse. These extremely rare drachms represent a further development in the move towards a distinctly Islamic coinage, with the names of all secular rulers now removed.
This remarkable type, on which the governor's name is replaced by a Pahlawi version of the Arabic Muhammad rasul Allah, is only known for drachms issued at GRM-KRMAN in this year. Coins were struck in Garmshir citing 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr from AH 65-70, and in the name of 'Atiya b. al-Aswad between AH 70 and AH 72, and these anonymous types were apparently issued during a brief interregnum between the two. It appears that the obverse die on this coin was modified during its lifetime, with the second part of the marginal legend changed to read wali al-amr. Only traces of the undertype are visible, but it appears to be consistent with the Pahlawi BPL - GDH legend seen on coins of Ibn al-Zubayr. A similar change is visible on another specimen, struck from different dies (The New York Sale XIV, 10 January 2007, lot 498). This suggests that the first of these anonymous drachms may have been issued by adherents of Ibn al-Zubayr, but as they lacked his name it was felt acceptable for 'Atiya b. al-Aswad to continue using the dies on his becoming governor, subject to this small modification of the obverse. These extremely rare drachms represent a further development in the move towards a distinctly Islamic coinage, with the names of all secular rulers now removed.