- Title
- Dinar
- Date Made
- A.H. 331/942 A.D.
- Period
- Samanid (819-1005)
- Medium
- Gold
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 7/8 in. (2.22 cm); Weight: 0.14 oz (4.04 g)
- Accession Number
- M.2006.143.4
- Collecting Area
- Art of the Middle East: Islamic
- Curatorial Notes
By the 690s, most Islamic coins were decorated only with writing, including the Muslim profession of faith, the date and place of issue, and the name of the ruler. Their purely epigraphic content distinguishes them from Roman and Sasanian coins on which a human portrait appears as a symbol of the government’s authority, as with many coins familiar today. This inscription on this dinar states that it was struck at Nishapur in 331 A.H. in the name of Nuh II (943-954 A.D.). In contrast to the comparatively humbler copper fals, Islamic gold dinars such as this example were not used in day-to-day commerce.
