Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Islamic Auction 3 27 Apr 2023
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Umayyad Caliphate, Silver coinage. AR Dirham (26.8mm, 2.80 g, 6h). Ardashir Khurra mint. Dated AH 84 (AD 703). Obverse margin reads bismillah duriba hadha al-dirham bi-Ardashir Khurra fi arba' wa thamanin / Reverse margin begins (exceptionally) at 10h. Klat 33; al-'Ajlan p. 123, 2; SCC -. Cleaned. Near VF. Extremely rare.
The unit of the date is defectively written and the word sanat has been omitted from the mint/date legend. Surprisingly, the four known examples of this mint and date were all struck from different obverse dies, all of which share the omission of sanat and curious rendering of arba'. It is difficult to explain this except by assuming that they were all copied from an incorrectly-written original. An Iranian die-engraver of this period may well have been unable to read the Arabic legends on these coins, and would not have noticed or been able to rectify such mistakes.
The unit of the date is defectively written and the word sanat has been omitted from the mint/date legend. Surprisingly, the four known examples of this mint and date were all struck from different obverse dies, all of which share the omission of sanat and curious rendering of arba'. It is difficult to explain this except by assuming that they were all copied from an incorrectly-written original. An Iranian die-engraver of this period may well have been unable to read the Arabic legends on these coins, and would not have noticed or been able to rectify such mistakes.