ISLAMIC, Umayyad Caliphate. temp. Mu'awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan, AH 41-60 / AD 661-680. Drachm (Silver, 30 mm, 3.57 g, 3 h), Arab-Sasanian type, citing governor Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan (AH 45-54 / AD 665-673), ST (Staxr/Istakhr), AH 51 (?) = AD 671/2. Draped bust resembling Khosrau II to right, wearing an elaborate mural crown; behind head, ‘GDE / ʾp̄zwt’ (‘[may his] glory increase’ in Pahlavi); before head, ‘zyyʾt Y / ʾbwswp[y]ʾn’ = ‘Ziyād ī Abūsufyān’ (‘Ziyad son of Abu Sufyan’ in Pahlavi); in the outer margin, ‘bism Allāh – rabbī’ (‘In the name of Allah, my Lord’ in Arabic). Rev. Fire altar with ribbons, flanked by two attendants; above altar, crescent and star; to left, date in Pahlavi; to right, ST (abbreviation for the name of the mint in Pahlavi). Album 8. Struck from worn dies, otherwise, very fine.

From an important collection of Arab-Sasanian coins.