Fals - al-Ẓāhir Baybars I

Baybars came to power by murdering his predecessor Qutuz in the immediate aftermath of Ain Jalut — the first significant Mongol battlefield defeat — and wasted no time asserting legitimacy through coinage. The fals denominations circulating under his name served an overwhelmingly local exchange economy, beneath the prestige of his silver dirhams, and survive in quantities that suggest heavy production at multiple Syrian and Egyptian mints operating concurrently throughout his seventeen-year reign.

Bal II #101-102 covers a die cluster with documented mint attribution difficulties. Attribution between Damascus and Cairo issues within this reference range remains contested among specialists.