AN ANCIENT gold coin, known as the Dinar of the Standing Caliph, Abdul Malik bin Marwan al-Umawi, now in Qatari hands, has just been officially authenticated as genuine.
The validation came from Dr Samir al-Khadem, president of the Beirut-based Numismatics Society of the Arab and Islamic World.
The Dinar is potentially so priceless that the owners are reluctant to put a tag on it.
The 22.8-carat coin is “minted during the seventies of the first Hegira century (74AH)”, al-Khadem told the owners.
The obverse side of the coin carries a portrait of the Caliph Abdul Malik bin Marwan with inscriptions in Kufi characters along the margin. The other side carries the Islamic creed. “There is no God but Allah alone and Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger,” which is minted along the margin.
Dr al-Kadem concluded that “this Dinar belongs to the Umayyad Caliph Abdul Malik bin Marwan. It is a genuine Dinar and it is a prototype of the first Islamic type and specimen of currency.
“It is genuine as regards its weight, diameter and fineness as well as form. A few numbers of this unique Dinar were minted as souvenirs in the year 74 of the Hegira in honour of the victories realised by Abdul Malik over his foes, in the interior and the exterior and in commemoration of this Umayyad Caliph who Arabised administrative departments and executed the first monetary reform in the early stage of Islam.”
“This unique Dinar is considered one of the aristocratic coins. The intrinsic value of this Dinar has no limit because it is the only and genuine Dinar without any fault except the hole in its top. This hole is a positive factor affirming the true state and genuineness of this Dinar which gives us a clear, correct and practical image about the dawn of Islamic minting.”
The 4.25gm gold coin contains 95.1% of gold, with silver, zinc, copper and palladium making up the rest. It has a vertical diameter of 20mm and horizontal diameter of 19mm and thickness of 1mm.
Source: By Arvind Nair http://www.coinnews.tv
More information about the coin could be obtained by visiting
TESTIMONY
I the undersigned, Dr. Samir al-Khadem, President of the Numismatics Society of the Arab and Islamic World, headquartered in Beirut, The Republic of Lebanon, holding the Lebanese Ministry of the Interior approval according to an information and acknowledgment decision No. 166/AD, dated 30/8/2005, testify that on Saturday 31 January 2009, corresponding to 5 Safar 1430 H. and in Doha city, Capital of Qatar State, I examined and inspected the Dinar known as the Dinar of the Standing Caliph, Abdul Malik Bin Marwan al-Umawi (65-86H – 685-702 A.D.). It became evident to me the following:
Weight: 4.25 grams
Vertical Dia: 20 mms
Horizontal Dia: 19 mms
Thickness: 1 mm
Mineral contents composing this Dinar:
Gold: 95.1%
Silver: 0.95%
Zinc: -0.001%
Copper: 3.9%
Palladium: 0.021%
The colour of yellow gold under ordinary daylight and under incandescent lighting points to the ancient minting of this Dinar. Definitely its gold is not newly minted gold and the gold ratio in this Dinar almost equals that of the gold standard in Dinars minted during the seventies of the first Hegira Century. This ratio was within the limits of 22,8 qirat.
Moreover, the palpable touch with fingers points to the smoothness of this Dinar. The portrait forms and the wordings in relief on it point also to the ancient minting of this Dinar.
About its form:
The Observe:
The portrait of the Caliph Abdul Malek Bin Marwan, posing his hand on his sword, dressed in a jubbah and a kufiyah covering his head, pending his shoulders looking like curly hung down hair. His long beard appeared which he let grow so as to form a token of the imamate and dignity and to conform with the Islamic procedures of Sunna.
Around the margin is minted in Kufi characters and in a clockwise direction the wording: For Abdul Malik, Prince of Believers.
The reverse
A four-graded scale appears on which is a column topped by a circle on top of which are just two converging crescents having a ball above them. To the left of this scale, a star appears symbolizing Sirius which name was mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, Surat 53, Verse 49 “And He is the Lord of Sirius”. The presence of Sirius on the Dinar of Abdul Malik in his military dress is the symbol of the victorious commander who defeated his enemies in the interior and the exterior.
To the right of the scale, the word “Homs” was minted pointing to the place where the Dinar was minted.
Homs has a historical and military purport. In it is the grave of Commander Khaled Bin al-Waleed who defeated the Byzantines in the battles of Ajnadin and Yarmouk. The Mongols abstained to enter Homs, during their invasion of the Islamic lands in respect and esteem of the presence of the Grave of Khalid Bin al-Waleed in it.
Around the margin is minted clockwise and in Kufi characters the two testimonies of Islamic unification:
There is no God but Allah alone and Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger.
The Hole:
At the top of the Dinar and to the left of the head of Abdul Malik there is a hole with a diameter of 1.2 mm in order to hang it as an amulet or a commemoration around the neck to denote an aspect of faith in view of the existence of the two testimonies unification and as a mark of affection and respect to the victorious Umayyad Caliph, Abdul Malik.
Conclusion:
This Dinar belongs to the Umayyad Caliph Abdul Malik Bin Marwan. It was minted in Homs in the year 74 of the Hegira.
It is a genuine Dinar and it is a prototype of the first Islamic type and specimen of currency.
It is genuine as regards its weight, diameter and fineness as well as form. A few number of this unique Dinar were minted as souvenirs in the year 74 of the Hegira in honor of the victories realized by Abdul Malik over his foes, in the interior and the exterior and in commemoration of this Umayyad Caliph who arabized administrative departments and executed the first monetary reform in the early stage of Islam.
This unique Dinar is considered one of the aristocratic coins.
The intrinsic value of this Dinar has no limit because it is the only and genuine Dinar without any fault except the hole in its top. This hole is a positive factor affirming the true state and genuineness of this Dinar which gives us a clear, correct and practical image about the dawn of Islamic minting.
For information, this testimony was written. God is the Giver of Success.
Beirut, 6/2/2009
Admiral (R) Dr. Samir el-Khadem
President of the Numismatics Society in the Arab and Islamic World
