Fatimid Dinar

[ulysses]

Dear fellow collectors,
Late;y I acquired the following Islamic dinar:
http://www.omnicoin.com/coins/943735.jpg
I tried to read it and I think it says it was struck in 411 AH (1020 AD) by the Addahir Li Ezaz Din Allahin Egypt. I wonder if someone can confirm this to or if I was mistaken then help me in identifying this coin, for I did not find any coin like it on sale either on ebay or vcoins and I could not find any references about the Fatimids coinage.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Kind regards,
ulysses

[dltcoins]

Your coin is a dinar of al-Zahir, mint of Misr, AH 425, with the word 'adl ("just") at center on each side. The dinars of al-Zahir are catalogued collectively as #714 in Steve Album's "Checklist of Islamic Coins". I'm afraid I don't have a specialized reference for Fatimid coins at hand but here is another example from the Zeno database:

http://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?photo=36320 (http://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?photo=36320)

[ulysses]

Thank you so much for confirming my thoughts. Al-Zahir that you are referring to is the same as Al-Ddahir that I was mentioning so I guess I was right in attributing it! Thank you also for helping me in deciphering the word in the center, I was thinking it was Ali but it seems to be Adil as you say.
Well I have tried to check Album's reference but could not find it in the local bookshops, I think I will have order it online!
But until then does any one know the exact wording of the legends on this dinar for I could only get the following words:
Obverse (the left hand photo):
Center: Adil (Just)
1st Circle: Al-Imam Al-Zahir (Aldhahir) Li Izaz Din Allah (The leader who is victorious (or successful) in glorifying the religion of God)
2nd Circle: Only got two words of it "Imam Abd Allah........" and could not get the rest.
3rd Circle: Doreb Hatha Al-Dinar fi Misr Sanat Khamsah Wa Ishroun Wa Abra'aoma'a (This Dinar was minted in Egypt in the year four hundred and twenty five).

Reverse (the right hand photo)
Center: Adil (Just).
1st Circle: Mohammed Rasoul Allah Ali Wali Allah (Mohammed is the messenger of God, Ali is the friend of God)
2nd Circle: La Ilah Ila Allah Wahdaho La Shareek Lah ( No God but the God, Alone with no partner)
3rd: Circle: could not get any words of it!

So if any body can help in identifying the words of the second circle on the obverse and the third circle on the reverse, I would be more than grateful and obliged.
Thank you in advance.
Kind regards,
ulysses

[dltcoins]

Dear Ulysses,

I can add a little. The circle with the mint and date begins with bism Allah. This is the standard date and mint formula used on most early Islamic coins. You will sometimes see it referred to as the "bismillah" in coin descriptions. The middle circle on that side should be a continuation of the ruler's name and titles from the inner circle. I am having trouble reading your coin because the image is so reflective. However, I can confim your reading of al-Iman Abd Allah, but nothing more. The outer margin on the other side should be Koran sura 9 verse 33: Muhammad rassul Allah arsalahu bi-l-huda wa din al-haqq li-yuzhirahu 'ala al-din kollihi walau kariha al-mushrikun. This phrase, often referred to by numismatists as the "second symbol", is found on virtually all gold and silver from the period of the caliphates. Generally, the side on which the shahada begins (la ilah illa Allah...) is considered the obverse. As far as references go, Sylloge of Islamic Coins in the Ashmolean. Volume 6: The Egyptian Dynasties by Luke Treadwell has just been published. I haven't seen a copy in hand yet, but I suspect it has excellent coverage of the Fatimids.

Regards,
Dave Tranbarger

[ulysses]

Dear Dltcoins,
Thank you so much your informative reply, it was really helpful. Thank you so much for telling which side is the Obverse and which is the reverse, I had for a long time been thinking about that, you know those Islamic coins are not like English sovereigns where you can easily know the heads from the tails!
I am a newbie in this hobby and it is always nice to find people like you who help and guide. I need to gain more data about those Islamic coins and I think that the references you cited would be very helpful.
I like the Fatimid coins, in my opinion they are some of the most beautiful coins of Islam, Their circles and richness of of details (words) make them a pleasure for the eye to watch in contrast to empty dinars of the ummayads and abassid coins, but that is just a personal opinion, hope that collectors of umayyad and abassid coins do not get upset of me here!
Anyway, thank you again for your help.
Kind regards,
ulysses