Famous Umayyad gold dinar to shine in Islamic coin sale

The "most important coin in the Arabian Peninsula" will highlight an upcoming Islamic coin auction

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An important sale of Islamic coins is to feature an extremely rare Umayyad gold dinar next week.

The sale, entitled Classical Rarities of Islam, is to be held on Wednesday April 25, 2012 and will offer an amazing and diverse selection for Islamic collections. The top lot of the sale will be a famous Umayyad gold dinar.

The renowned coin has been described as "the most important coin ever struck in the Arabian Peninsula", as the earliest gold coin which names a region in Saudi Arabia.

The famous Umayyad gold dinar

The coin refers to al-Hejaz, the locality that houses the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. This example is thought to be of gold from the Mine of the Commander of the Faithful in the Hejaz, which is situated on the pilgrimage route between Baghdad and Mecca. The land is recorded by historians as being inherited from the Prophet Muhammad himself.

Made in the year 105 H (AD 724) of the Hijri Calendar, the extremely rare coin is in uncirculated condition. An estimate of £1.5-2m ($2.4-3.2m) has been set for the piece.

Other notable lots include an 8th century glass weight with an estimate of £280,000-300,000. The intriguing item was used by Muhammad bin Marwan, brother of Caliph 'Abd al-Malik bin Marwan and governor of Mosul, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The glass tool would have been used as a control against which the standard weight of the coinage could be measured. Although broken, the piece has been adeptly restored to good condition.

Paul Fraser Collectibles brings you the latest news on coin collecting; you can see our most recent articles here. We also have our own fantastic selection of rarities for numismatists. This rare Italian Renaissance coin is thought to be one of only five examples in existence.

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·  Perfect 'Diamond Jubilee' coin? Year of the Dragon coin sells in Hong Kong | 4 March 2012

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Images: Baldwin's