Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Islamic Auction 3 27 Apr 2023
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Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. Ubaydallah b. Ziyad. AH 54-64 / AD 673-683. AR Drachm (32.7mm, 4.06 g, 3h). MYAP (uncertain location). Dated AH 59 (AD 678/9). Obverse margin: - / • bismillah :: / - / - / Reverse margin: • • / - / - / -. Malek, Arab-Sasanian ; SICA 1, -; Album 12. Some lustre remaining. AU. Extremely rare.
Malek knew of only two Arab-Sasanian drachms with this mint name, and like the present coin these are both issues of 'Ubaydallah b. Ziyad dated AH 59. It has been suggested that the name is a compound of MY (the district name, Maysan) and AP (a city name, possibly Abarqubadh). Why this mint should have been active for this year only is unclear, although Malek's observation that 'mints would open and strike coins when there was a particular local need such as to pay troops' seems as plausible a suggestion as any.
Malek knew of only two Arab-Sasanian drachms with this mint name, and like the present coin these are both issues of 'Ubaydallah b. Ziyad dated AH 59. It has been suggested that the name is a compound of MY (the district name, Maysan) and AP (a city name, possibly Abarqubadh). Why this mint should have been active for this year only is unclear, although Malek's observation that 'mints would open and strike coins when there was a particular local need such as to pay troops' seems as plausible a suggestion as any.