Catalog
Follis / Fals - standing caliph type - Iliya Jerusalem - Arab-Byzantine
| Issuer | Umayyad Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 690 |
| 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 | 3.38 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| 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 | Arabic |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Large capital letter M (value mark for 40 nummi) occupying the central field, derived directly from the Byzantine follis reverse design. Two vertical lines or columns flank the M, with a cross or similar element above. The exergue area carries a mint or officina mark. The overall design closely follows late Byzantine follis types, reflecting the transitional Arab-Byzantine coinage tradition. |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
The standing caliph coinage was Abd al-Malik's first attempt at distinctly Islamic currency before his landmark 696 AD purely epigraphic reform swept figurative types from Umayyad minting entirely. The Iliya mint — the Arabic rendering of Aelia Capitolina — operated on conquered Byzantine infrastructure, and these transitional pieces reflect that tension directly: Islamic authority projected through a visual grammar inherited from the empire it displaced.
Album 3511 is among the more localized varieties of the standing caliph series. Jerusalem issues are scarcer than their Syrian counterparts from Damascus or Homs.