★ Fresh and attractive ★

ISLAMIC, Umayyad Caliphate. temp. Mu'awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan, AH 41-60 / AD 661-680. Drachm (Silver, 34 mm, 4.00 g, 3 h), Arab-Sasanian type. Citing governor ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ziyad (AH 54-64 / AD 673-683), al-Basra, AH 60 = 679/680. Draped bust resembling Khosrau II to right, wearing elaborate mural crown; behind head, ‘GDE ʾp̄zwt'’ (‘[may his] glory increase’ in Pahlavi); before head, ‘ʾwbytʾlʾ / Y zyyʾtʾn’ (‘ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ziyad’ in Pahlavi); in outer margin, ‘bism Allāh’ (‘In the name of Allah’ in Arabic). Rev. Fire altar with ribbons, flanked by two attendants; above altar, star and crescent; to left, date in Pahlavi; to right, ‘bclʾ’ (‘al-Basra’ in Pahlavi). Album 12. Fresh and attractive. Areas of weakness, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

From the collection of Dr. D. Löer, formed since the 1970s.