SPAIN, Castile & León. Alfonso VIII el Noble (the Noble). King of Castile, 1158-1214. AV Maravedí – Morabitino (26mm, 3.84 g, 12h). Tulaitula (Toledo) mint. Dated Safar era 1226 (AD 1188).

Triton XXIII – Session Four – World Coinage Part II, British Coinage and Medals, and Large Lots
Lot: 1208. Estimated: $ 5 000

World, Gold

Sold For $ 4 500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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SPAIN, Castile & León. Alfonso VIII el Noble (the Noble). King of Castile, 1158-1214. AV Maravedí – Morabitino (26mm, 3.84 g, 12h). Tulaitula (Toledo) mint. Dated Safar era 1226 (AD 1188). In center: cross above The spiritual leader of the Christians, the Pope (in Arabic) in two lines above •ΛIF•; in margin: In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God who so believes in Him and is baptized will be saved (in Arabic) / In center: Prince of the Catholics, Alfonso son of Sancho, May God protect and assist himi (in Arabic) in two lines; in margin: i>This dinar was struck in the city of Tulaitula, the year six and twenty and two hundred and one thousand of Safar (in Arabic). Grierson, Coins of Medieval Europe C7; ME 1019; MEC 6, 360. Toned. Superb EF.

From the Richard A. Jourdan Collection of Medieval European Coins. Ex CNG inventory 733449 (December 2002); UBS 55 (16 September 2002), lot 4127.

The morabitini ‘form the most interesting monetary development of twelfth-century Spain... Alfonso VIII of Castile, who had the highest proportion of Moorish subjects and was the ruler most connected with the Muslim world, strack at Toledo, from the 1180s onwards, gold morabitini or alfonsini with Arabic inscriptions that were Christian in content. They were dated not by the Christian era or by the Hijra but by the ‘Spanish’ era, reckoned from the ‘conquest’ of Augustus in 38 BC.’ Grierson, p.103

The final winners of all Triton XXIII lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 14-15 January 2020. Triton XXIII – Session Four – World Coinage Part II, British Coinage and Medals, and Large Lots will be held Wednesday afternoon, 15 January 2020 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 20% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and in person at the public auction, 22.50% for all others.