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Dinar - Anonymous no mintname
| Issuer | Umayyad Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 719-750 |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears three lines of Kufic Arabic script arranged horizontally, forming the shahada: the declaration of Islamic faith attesting to the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad. The legend is enclosed by a circular marginal inscription in Kufic script running along the inner border, repeating a Quranic verse from Surah At-Tawbah (9:33). The coin surface is characteristic of the purely epigraphic, aniconic reform coinage introduced by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik, with no figural imagery. The hammered flan is irregular in shape, displaying the characteristic uneven surface typical of early Islamic gold coinage. Inscriptions are bold and well-executed in early angular Kufic style. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | لا اله الا الله وحده لا شريك له محمد رسول الله ارسله بالهدى ودين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله |
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| Additional information |
The anonymous Umayyad dinar without mintname descends from the sweeping monetary reform of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan in 696–697 AD, which deliberately stripped all figurative imagery from Islamic coinage and replaced it with Quranic text alone — a direct repudiation of Byzantine numismatic convention. The absence of a mint designation was not an oversight; central Umayyad policy consolidated prestige gold production at Damascus, making the mintname redundant on the highest-denomination coinage.
By the reign of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, the dinar had achieved such consistent fineness that it circulated without friction across the Mediterranean trading world, accepted by Christian merchants who cared more about the gold content than the theology inscribed on it.