ABBASID, AL-MUQTADIR (295-320h) Donative double-dirham, without mint or date Obverse: In margin: Qur’an ix, 33; in field: al-Muqtadir billah above scrolled ω Reverse: In margin: Qur’an xxx, 4-5; in field: lillah Ja‘far above scrolled ω Weight: 4.37g References: cf Ilisch T3 = Sotheby’s, 12 October 1982, lot 74 (different marginal legends) Ex-mount and with some surface corrosion and minor edge damage, otherwise about fine and retaining some old gilding, of the highest rarity. Ilisch records three donative coins of al-Muqtadir bearing this distinctive scrolled ω motif: a dinar, a double-dirham, and a single-dirham. Interestingly, the legends on all three are slightly different from each other, while those on the present coin are different again. The central legends and design remain constant, but the coin offered here is the only one to carry the familiar verses from the Qur’an which are also found in the margins on the regular Abbasid silver coinage.

Estimate: GBP 1500 - 2500