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Fals - Ali bin al-Hasan type 2
| Issuer | Kilwa Sultanate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1480-1482 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Arabic |
| Reverse lettering | يثق بمولى المنن (Translation: trusts in the Master of Bounties) |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Ali bin al-Hasan ruled Kilwa at a moment when the sultanate's control over the East African gold trade — routed through Sofala and northward to the Persian Gulf — was already beginning to fracture under succession disputes. These copper fals served purely local exchange; the real wealth moved in gold and cloth, not coin. The distinction matters because it means these pieces circulated hard among common transactions while gold left no numismatic trace at all.
Kilwa's copper coinage is among the earliest indigenous struck currency documented on sub-Saharan African soil, and Ali bin al-Hasan produced at least two distinct types within a reign lasting barely two years.