Arab-Byzantine coins, Temp. of caliph Mu’âwiya, 41-60 H./661-680 AD.

Gold Solidus imitating Byzantine solidi of Heraclius with Heraclius Constantine and Heracleonas, early 660s AD, presumably Damascus mint. The three emperors standing holding orbs with poles instead of crosses, also the crowns without crosses / T on four steps between I and IB (monogram), marginal legend VICTORIA AVGЧN, in exergue CONOB. 4,56g. Michael Bates, History, Geography and Numismatics, Revue Suisse de Numismatique 1986 p. 240 B (officina N like this coin); Walker 54; cf. Miles, The Earliest Arab Gold Coinage, ANS Museum Notes 1967, pl. XLV 8 (officina B); Foss p. 39 (officina A); Album 3548.

Extremely rare and of high historical importance. Extremely fine.

The dating of solidi of Byzantine type with a dechristianized cross on steps and crossed on the globes held by the emperors and in their crowns has been much debated over the last half century. Michael Bates argued strongly for a late dating within the rule of the caliph ‘Abd al-Malik, immediately before the introduction of the standing caliph type, ca. 72-74 H. His strongest argument was to explain the letters in the reverse field as date letters, which would have indicated a sequence of years 10, 11, 12 and 13. Clive Foss repeatedly insisted in several publications that these rare coins corresponded all too well to the indication of the so called Maronite Chronicle “He (Mu’âwiya) also minted gold and silver, but it was not accepted, because it had no cross on it.” referring to the beginning of the caliphate of Mu’âwiya. It goes without saying in the text that the reform to make a change regarding the crosses was a failure and discontinued after a short time. This is perfectly confirmed by the extreme rarity of these solidi. The debate continued nevertheless over decades with no clear conclusion with Bates, Goodwin, Morrisson, Phillips, Treadwell and many other stating their points until rather recently when more evidence was added in a detailed overview article by Mehdy Shaddel, Monetary reform under the Sufyanids: the papyrological evidence, Cambridge (published online by Cambridger University Press 22 November 2021). The new evidence was based on one side on Arabic papyri, datable to 44 H., mentioning danânîr qaḍâʾ al-muʾminîn or dinars of the jurisdiction of the believers (muslims), which obviously refer to gold coins discernable from the traditional Byzantine solidus or nomisma. Moreover Shaddel presents medieval narrative evidence for the rejection of Mu’âwia’s gold coinage expressed by an aged member of the army as independently transmitted Muslim source without relation to the Maronite chronicle. All in all Shaddel’s evidence form a convincing conclusion to the debate on dating these imitations.