Watch List notes:

ISLAMIC KINGDOMS. Mamluks. AV Dinar, AH 648 (1250). al-Qahira (Cairo) Mint. Shajar al-Durr. ANACS AU-55.
A-868 (RRR); Balog-1; Zeno-145258. Several Islamic coins are bound to capture immediate attention on account of their elusive RARITY that is implied by their very mention. To this number are the coins of Shajar al-Durr, "Queen of the Muslims". Such coins are so elusive that Album's Checklist of Islamic Coins relays this about her coinage: "Coins of Shajar al-Durr are exceedingly rare and should be considered uncollectible. None have appeared at auction or on fixed price lists in recent decades...none are illustrated in Zeno." While her name is never mentioned on her coinage, the titles are given in feminine declension and this Dinar also bears the honorific title "malkat al-muslimin" ("Queen of the Muslims"). We have only been able to trace two other examples of a Shajar al-Durr Dinar, one permanently impounded in the British Museum collection and one example plated in Balog. The present example is from the same obverse dies as the Balog specimen, with differing reverse dies. This Dinar is rather nicely struck, with most of the script being on the flan, and with just a touch of the periphery cut off. Sparkling golden appeal remains, though for completeness, the edge does appear to show some traces of filing. An example of the highest importance, and an opportunity that is unlikely to present itself again in the foreseeable future.

Little is known about the early life of Shajar al-Durr, however she was purchased as a slave by As-Salih Ayyub before his rise to power as Sultan of Egypt. After she bore him a son she wed As-Salih Ayyub who ruled Egypt from 1240-1249. After his death in November of 1249, Shajar al-Durr kept her husband's death a secret, as Egypt was facing invasion by Louis IX of France and a Crusader Army. News of his death however reached the Crusader Army and they immediately marched on Cairo. Shajar al-Durr agreed to a defensive plan with her generals, and her army put down the Crusader threat. After the defeat of the Seventh Crusade, Shajar al-Durr and the son of the Sultan, Al-Muazzam Turanshah, grappled for power. Turanshah, having offended many in his kingdom, was murdered in 1250, and Shajar al-Durr was installed as Sultana. Despite her elevation, such a prominent position for a woman met resistance, and the Ayyubids in Syria revolted. To quell rebellion, Shajar al-Durr married Izz al-Din Aybak and abdicated the throne to him. He ruled for 7 years until Shajar al-Durr had him murdered. This murder led to Shajar al-Durr's own death in 1257 when she was beaten to death. She was buried in a Mausoleum in Cairo that she helped design.

Estimate: $5000 - $10000