DinarA.H. 248/862 A.D.

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Art of the Word, Word as Art

Gold Islamic coin with Arabic script in raised relief, arranged in concentric circular bands and four horizontal lines at center, against a black background

Gold dinar coin photographed against a black background, with multiple concentric bands of Arabic script in raised relief surrounding a central field of Arabic text.

Title: Dinar
Place Made: Egypt
Date Made: A.H. 248/862 A.D.
Period: 'Abbasid (750-1258)
Medium: Gold
Dimensions: Diameter: 3/4 in. (1.91 cm); Weight: 0.15 oz (4.15 g)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Joan Palevsky Bequest
Accession Number: M.2006.143.9
Classification: Tools and Equipment
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes: Apart from their monetary function, coins struck for Muslim caliphs and kings were symbols of the legitimacy, faith, power, and prestige that accrued to the dynasts in whose names they were minted. By the 690s, the sole markings on most Islamic coins consisted of writing, including the Muslim profession of faith, or shahada, the date and place of issue, and the name of the ruler. Their purely epigraphic content distinguished them from Byzantine and Sasanian coins (see M.2002.1.448), on which a human portrait appears as a symbol of the government’s authority, as with many coins familiar to us today.

This coin states that it was struck in AH 248 (862 CE) in the name of the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Musta‘in (r. 862−66). Gold dinars such as this were mostly reserved for state-level transactions, including the payment of taxes, reflecting the economic and political power of the ‘Abbasid caliphate during this period. The comparatively humbler copper fals was used in day-to-day commerce.
Selected Bibliography: Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.
Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.

DinarA.H. 248/862 A.D.

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Art of the Word, Word as Art

Title: Dinar
Place Made: Egypt
Date Made: A.H. 248/862 A.D.
Period: 'Abbasid (750-1258)
Medium: Gold
Dimensions: Diameter: 3/4 in. (1.91 cm); Weight: 0.15 oz (4.15 g)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Joan Palevsky Bequest
Accession Number: M.2006.143.9
Classification: Tools and Equipment
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes: Apart from their monetary function, coins struck for Muslim caliphs and kings were symbols of the legitimacy, faith, power, and prestige that accrued to the dynasts in whose names they were minted. By the 690s, the sole markings on most Islamic coins consisted of writing, including the Muslim profession of faith, or shahada, the date and place of issue, and the name of the ruler. Their purely epigraphic content distinguished them from Byzantine and Sasanian coins (see M.2002.1.448), on which a human portrait appears as a symbol of the government’s authority, as with many coins familiar to us today.

This coin states that it was struck in AH 248 (862 CE) in the name of the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Musta‘in (r. 862−66). Gold dinars such as this were mostly reserved for state-level transactions, including the payment of taxes, reflecting the economic and political power of the ‘Abbasid caliphate during this period. The comparatively humbler copper fals was used in day-to-day commerce.
Selected Bibliography: Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.
Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.