★ Beautifully toned ★

ISLAMIC, Umayyad Caliphate. temp. Mu'awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan, AH 41-60 / AD 661-680. Drachm (Silver, 32 mm, 3.98 g, 3 h), Arab-Sasanian type, al-Basra, citing governor ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ziyad (AH 54-64 / AD 673-683), AH 60 = 679/80. Draped bust resembling Khosrau II to right, wearing an elaborate mural crown; behind head, ‘GDE / ʾp̄zwt’ (‘[may his] glory increase’ in Pahlavi); before head, ‘ʾwbytʾlʾ / Y zyyʾtʾn’ = ‘Ubaydālā ī Ziyādān’ (‘ʿUbayd Allah son of Ziyad’ in Pahlavi); in the 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’ = ‘Basra’ (‘al-Basra’ in Pahlavi). Album 12. Beautifully toned. Areas of weakness and with very minor edge cracks, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

From a West German collection, ex Münzen & Medaillen FPL 503, September 1987, 349.