Catalog
Fals - Anonymous
| Issuer | Umayyad Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 685-705 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central field occupied by the first part of the Shahada (kalima) in Arabic Kufic script, reading 'La ilaha illa Allah' (There is no god but Allah). A small decorative star or pellet is positioned within the word 'Allah', serving as a distinguishing mint or die mark. The inscription fills the flan with bold, angular Kufic letterforms characteristic of early Umayyad copper coinage, with no figural imagery present. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
The anonymous copper fals of this period predates the sweeping monetary reforms of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, who between 696 and 698 AD replaced the Byzantine- and Sasanian-derived coinage with a purely epigraphic Islamic currency. Issues struck before that reform often circulated alongside — and were sometimes overstruck on — Byzantine folles and Sasanian drachms, making their precise attribution a persistent challenge for specialists. Mitchiner's classification acknowledges the ambiguity; WI#65 groups pieces that cannot be assigned to a specific mint with confidence.