ISLAMIC, 'Abbasid Caliphate. al-Hadi, AH 169-170 / AD 785-786. Dirham (Silver, 27 mm, 2.56 g, 5 h), Barqa (Kyrenaika), AH 170 = AD 786/7. Rev. 'Bar' above and 'Qa' below the inner reverse legend. SICA III, 438 (under Ifriqiya). Rare. Somewhat crystallized and with doubling on the obverse, otherwise, very fine.
From the Tabib Collection, formed over the past 40 years.
The rather mysterious mint of Barqa, the ancient Greek city of Barke in Kyrenaika, has only recently been studied by scholars, of which one, F. Bauden, called its coinage 'a terra incognita' (F. Bauden: The Islamic Coinage of Cyrenaica (Barqa) from the Arab conquest up to the Advent of the Fatimids, in: Numismatica Patavina 13 (2016), p. 388).
Price realized | 45 CHF |
Starting price | 25 CHF |