Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Fals - al-Hasan bin Sulayman
| Issuer | Kilwa Sultanate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1482-1493 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Fals (1⁄60) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central field displays a four-line Arabic religious inscription contained within a linear circle. The legend, reading 'yathiqu bil-wahid al-mannan azza' (trusts in the One God, the Bountiful, He is Glorious), is rendered in a bold, somewhat angular hand typical of Kilwa fals coinage of the late fifteenth century. The flan is irregular and slightly chipped at the edges, a common characteristic of hammered East African copper issues of this period. The strike is uneven, with portions of the legend weakly impressed, yet the overall composition remains legible. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Kilwa Sultanate controlled the East African gold trade through the port of Kilwa Kisiwani, acting as the primary conduit for gold moving from the Zimbabwe plateau to Indian Ocean merchants. Al-Hasan bin Sulayman ruled during a period when that dominance was already eroding under pressure from rival Swahili ports. Within a decade of his reign's end, the Portuguese arrival in 1498 would permanently disrupt the sultanate's commercial position.
Kilwa copper fals are among the few tangible artifacts of sub-Saharan medieval monetary practice. Most excavated examples come from the island site itself, suggesting limited penetration into the interior.