409, Lot: 782. Estimate $150. Sold for $170. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ISLAMIC, 'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Saffah. AH 132-136 / AD 749-754. AR Dirham (24mm, 2.91 g, 11h). al-Kufa mint. Dated AH 132 (AD 749/50). Central Kufic legend: la ilah illa | Allah wahdahu | la sharika lahu (There is no diety except | God alone | He has no equal); marginal Kufic legend: bism Allah duriba hadha al-dirhem bi-al-Kufa sanat ithnatain wa thelathin wa mi'at (In the name of God. This dirham was struck in al-Kufa in the year two and thirty and one hundred) / Central Kufic legend: Muhammad | rasulu- | allah (Muhammad | the Messenger of | God); marginal Kufic legend: Muhammad rasuluallah. arsala rasulahu bi'l-huda wa-din al-haqq li-yuzhirahu 'ala ad-din kollihi walau kariha al-mushrikun (Muhammad is the messenger of God. He sent him with guidance and the true religion to reveal it to all religions even if the polytheists abhor it). Lowick 1088; Album 211; ICV 375. VF, toned. Rare date.

From the BRN Collection.

Al-Saffah was the founder and first caliph of the Abbasid dynasty. This coin was struck in the first year of his reign in his capital city.