The first purely Islamic coin ever created will star at AH Baldwin & Sons' Islamic Coin Auction 26, to be held on August 6 in London.
 The coin was the first to feature solely religious text, removing all iconography - a pattern that would continue for centuries |
The Umayyad 77h dinar was created in AD 696 under 'Abd al-Malik, who abandoned all iconography from coins and focused solely on religious text.
An incredibly rare piece and the highlight of any major Islamic coin collection, it is expected to see between ?�120,000 and ?�180,000 ($205,243-307,865).
"For collectors in the field of Islamic numismatics, the Umayyad 77h Dinar is the most desirable coin ever struck, guaranteeing the importance of any Islamic Coin collection," commented specialist Graham Byfield.
The Umayyad caliphate was the second of four major Islamic dynasties established following the death of Muhammad. Ruling over much of the Arab world from AD 661-750, it was the largest empire the world had seen by that point and the fifth largest ever to exist.
Paul Fraser Collectibles has a brilliant selection of rare coins for sale.
