Numismatics
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Silver coin (dirham) of the Rum Saljuq Sultan Kaykhusraw II ibn Kayqubad (r. AD 1237–46), struck at Konya (Qunya), Turkey, dated AH 639
Turkey,
With more than 12,000 coins in the collection, The al-Sabah Collections numismatic holdings are extensive. Coins in the collection were minted in virtually every corner of the geography of the Islamic world. Equally notable, they were minted over a period of some 6,000 years – from the Bronze Age through the 19th century CE.
All minted coins are invaluable records, rich with historical, social, artistic and, of course, economic information. One could argue the true value of a coin is often found in the stories it tells. Using the coins from the Islamic collection, one can trace the influence of pre-Islamic cultures, the history of dynasties, the geographic spread of the religion, and the evolution of artistic styles. The largess of the different rulers is also evident, in the motifs, symbolism and scale of the coins.
Silver coin (dirham) of the Rum Saljuq Sultan Kaykhusraw II ibn Kayqubad (r. AD 1237–46), struck at Konya (Qunya), Turkey, dated AH 639
Turkey,
Gold coin (dinar) of the Saljuq Sultan Malikshah ibn Muhammad (r. AD 1072–92), struck at Amul (Mazandaran), Iran, dated AH 479
Iran, Amul, AD
Silver coin (dirham) of the Muwahhid (Almohad) rulers of North Africa and Spain, struck at Fez (Fas), Morocco, undated (AH 6th c.)
Morocco, Fez,
Gold coin (dinar) of the Fatimid Caliph al-Mu‘izz li-Din ‘llah
ibn al-Mansur (r. AH 341–65/ AD 953–75), struck in Palestine (Filastin), dated AH 359
Gold coin (dinar) of the ‘Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid ibn al-Mahdi (r. AH 170–93/AD 786–809), struck in northern Iraq, dated AH 170
Iraq, AD 786–87<br
Undated copper/copper alloy coin (fals) of so-called ‘Standing Caliph’ type, in the name of the Umayyad Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (r. AH 65–86/
Gold coin (dinar) of the Samanid ruler Nasr II ibn Ahmad II
(r. AH 301–31/AD 914–43), struck at Nishapur (Naysabur), Iran, dated AH 324<br
Gold one-hundred muhur presentation coin in the name of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (r. AH 1037–69/AD 1627–58), struck at Lahore, dated AH 1048, 12th
Gold coin (dinar) of the Umayyad Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (r. AH 65–86/AD 685–705), struck at Damascus (Dimashq), Syria, dated AH 80
Gold coin (tanqa) of the Ottoman Emperor Mustafa III ibn Ahmad III (r. AD 1757–74), struck at Istanbul (Islambul), Turkey, dated AH 1171 Turkey, Istanbul,
Gold coin (portrait muhur) of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir ibn Akbar (r. AD 1605–27), no mint mentioned (Agra?), dated AH 1020 and regnal year 6,
Gold coin (ashrafi) of the Safavid Sultan Shah Isma‘il ibn Haydar (r. AD 1501–24), struck at Tabriz, Iran, dated AH 916
Iran, Tabriz, AD
Silver coin (tanqa) of the Timurid Sultan Shah Rukh ibn Timur (r. AD 1405–47), struck at Astarabad, Iran, dated AH 830 Iran, Astarabad, AD 1426–27
Gold coin (double dinar) of the Ilkhanid (Mongol) ruler Uljaytu ibn Arghun (r. AD 1304–16), struck at Baghdad, Iraq, dated AH 715
Iraq, Baghdad,
Gold coin (double dinar) of the Mamluk Sultan Baybars I (r. AD 1260–77), struck at Cairo (al-Qahira), Egypt, dated AH 661 Egypt, Cairo, AD 1262–63
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