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Stephen Album Rare Coins
Auction 46  18-21 May 2023
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Lot 173

Starting price: 15 500 USD
Price realized: 15 500 USD
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ARAB-ARMENIAN: Anonymous, ca. 690-700, AR zuzun (3.16g), year "6", A-M97, in the name of the Sasanian king Hormizd IV, with the full Shahada filling the obverse margin after the phrase bism Allah, and with the denomination ZWZWN, Aramaic for "drachm", instead of a mint name on the standard position on the reverse, superb strike for this type, full EF, RRRR. There are two examples of this type with the full Shahada posted on Zeno, #96964 with the additional phrase "rabbi Allah" added on the reverse margin (sold in M&E Auction 48, Lot 1), and #153562 with "rabbi Allah" instead of ZWZWN at the mint location on the reverse. The full Shahada was introduced to the Arab-Sasanian coinage during the governorship of al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf (694-713), whence it seems likely that this type could not have been introduced before 694, replaced shortly afterwards by the type that replaced the name Hormizd with Muhammad (A-E97) and the Arabic word waf in the obverse margin, introduced circa 700. The prototype was the relatively common Sasanian-Armenian type in the name of Hormizd, usually with year "6" and the phrase ZWZWN in lieu of mint name (e.g., Zeno-17577).

Estimate: 17,000-19,000 USD
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