An extremely rare and important gold dinar was offered during the Classical Numismatic Group’s Triton XXIX auction in January. Dated AH 105 (723-724 A.D.), it is only the third example to be known to be offered at auction.

The dinar comes from the “Mine of the Commander of the Faithful in the Hijaz” and have the distinction of being the first Islamic coins which mention a location within the present-day Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The inscription which makes this coin so special is to be found in the bottom three lines of the reverse field. It reads Ma‘din Amir al-Mu’minin bi’l-Hijaz, which simply means “Mine of the Commander of the Faithful, in the Hijaz”. Around this is the circular marginal legend giving the date of the coin, which translates as “In the name of Allah was struck this dinar in the year five and one hundred”.

The previous two examples of the coin sold at auction were offered by Morton and Eden of London and are currently held by institutions. This coin comes from the collection of Yahya Jafar of Dubai. It has been graded AU50 by Numismatic Guaranty Company. It sold for $1.1 million.

Complete details of the Triton XXIX auction can be found at www.cngcoins.com.

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