★ EARLY BRONZE STRUCK IN MAKKA ★

LE MONDE ARABE
Abbasid Caliphate
al-Mamun, AH 198-218 (813-833 CE). AE Fals citing local governor Muhammad (ibn Ibrahim al-Ifriqi) AH 204 (819-20 CE), Makka. Obverse: Kalima. Below: makkah / Reverse: muhammad - rasul - allah. Above: muhammad. Below; ‘adl. Marginal inscription: Denomination and date. 4,54g. "Coinage of Islam. History Revealed" 309.

Very rare in this condition. Good very fine.

A coin of great historical importance, this fals is the earliest known example of its type to have been struck in the holy city of Mecca. This coin is also the first Islamic coin to have been minted in the Hejaz using non-precious metals. Minted in 819-820 CE, the coin is not only a witness to the reign of the Caliph al-Ma’mun, but also sheds light on the history of demotic ‘Abbasid coinage as it reveals the name of the governor who ruled Mecca at the time of its production. On the reverse one can find the name of a certain Muhammad who is apparently identical to Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Ifriqi, the deputy to ‘Ubaydallah ibn al-Hasan al-‘Alawi, an ‘Abbasid governor of the Hejaz province.