Morton & Eden

Auction 107  –  22 October 2020

Morton & Eden, Auction 107

Important Coins of the Islamic World

Th, 22.10.2020, from 1:00 PM CEST
The auction is closed.

Description

‡ ARAB-HEPHTHALITE, YAZID B. AL-MUHALLAB. Drachm, ANBYR (Anbir) 84h. Obverse: Sasanian bust right, wearing helmet with ‘weather-vane’ crest; To right of bust, in Arabic: Yazid bin - al-Muhallab; In second and third quadrants of margin, in Arabic: bismillah – al-a‘zim. Reverse: Standing figure facing wearing armour and helmet with ‘weather-vane’ crest streaming to right, holding spear vertically in right hand, left hand on pommel of sheathed sword which hangs to right; In field (in Pahlawi) ANBYR to left, date to right; In first and second quadrants of margin: Hephthalite legend (partly retrograde); In fourth and third quadrants of margin (in Arabic): duriba jizya bi-l – Juzjan. Weight: 3.14g. References: cf Morton & Eden auction 73, 25 April 2015, lot 13, same obverse die; with a similar countermark in first quadrant of obverse margin). Hephthalite countermarks in first and fourth quadrants of obverse margin, almost very fine and of the highest rarity, apparently an unpublished variety The obverse of this drachm is engraved entirely normally for this issue, and this die is also known to have been paired with at least two different reverse dies of standard type (vide Morton & Eden auction 73, 25 April 2015, lot 13, and also the previous lot). This would seem to preclude the possibility of the present coin being a contemporary imitation. However, the reverse presents several intriguing features which shed light on how the dies for this remarkable coinage were prepared. The pictorial elements on the reverse of this coin are a perfect mirror image of the standard arrangement. The spear is in the left side of the field by the Pahlawi mint-name, and is held in the figure’s right hand, while the sword is in the right side by the Pahlawi date with the figure’s right hand resting upon the hilt. The crest of the helmet is to the right of the figure’s head, with the space to the left occupied by the head of the spear. Even the two symbols flanking the figure’s neck have been switched, with the pellet in the left field and the pellet-in-annulet in the right. With the coin legends, however, the situation is rather different. The Pahlawi mint-signature and date are in their standard places to left and right of the standing figure respectively, and it is noteworthy that these were not transposed along with the details of the figure itself. Similarly, the Arabic legend in the fourth and third quadrants on the right half of the coin is in its standard place and correctly written. But the cursive Greek inscription in the first and second quadrants is not correctly written. The first quadrant is largely obscured by the countermark, but in the second quadrant it is clear that the inscription has also been mirrored – this time horizontally, so the letters are written upside-down. This suggests that the engraver of this reverse die was familiar with the standard elements of normal Arab-Sasanian drachms, which is why the Pahlawi and Arabic legends are correctly engraved and also positioned normally. But the cursive Greek inscriptions and the figure of the standing warrior are unique to this type, and the fact that both are reversed would readily be explained if the die-engraver had copied them directly from another drachm. Had our engraver copied the normal reverse image of fire-altar and attendants in this way, the effect would have been barely noticeable because this design is vertically symmetrical. The fact that some small details on standard Arab-Sasanian drachms, such as the star and crescent to either side of the altar flames, are sometimes found ‘swapped’ from one side of the altar to the other may also be evidence of this type of copying. On this analysis, this reverse die must have been prepared after the first of these drachms were struck (since an issued coin was apparently used as a template). Allowing for differences in preservation, there are indeed indications that the obverse die was more worn by the time it was used to strike this coin, which goes some way to supporting this view. Perhaps another reverse die broke at an early stage, and it became necessary to manufacture a new one while on campaign? If so, we have further support for the view expressed in the footnote to the previous lot that this coinage, described by Walker as ‘Ephthalite tribute,’ was indeed struck by the Muslims, since the die-engraver was clearly familiar with Pahlawi and Arabic legends but not with the cursive Greek used by the Hepthalites.

Estimate: GBP 70000 - 100000

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Price realized --
Starting price 56'000 GBP
Estimate 70'000 GBP
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