Umayyad Caliphate. temp. al-Walid I ibn 'Abd al-Malik, AH 86-96 / AD 705-715. Dinar (Gold, 20 mm, 4.24 g, 5 h), No mint, AH 96 = AD 714/5. Central field, in three lines: lā ilāha illā / Allāh waḥdahū / lā sharīka lahū (‘There is no deity but God alone; He has no associate’ in Arabic). Margin (Qurʾān 9:33): Muḥammad rasūl Allāh arsalahu bi-l-hudā wa-dīn al-ḥaqq li-yuẓhirahu ʿalā al-dīn kullihi (‘Muḥammad is the Messenger of God, whom He sent with guidance and the religion of truth, to make it prevail over all religion’ in Arabic). Rev. Central field, in three lines (Qurʾān 112:1-3): Allāh aḥad Allāh / al-ṣamad lam yalid / wa lam yūlad (‘God is One, God the Eternal Refuge; He begets not, nor is He begotten’ in Arabic). Margin: bi-sm Allāh ḍuriba hādhā al-dīnār fī sana sitt wa-tisʿīn (‘In the name of God, this dinar was struck in the year ninety-six’ in Arabic). Album 127. ICV 180. Walker 210. Well struck and with some luster. Tiny die faults and a minor grafitto on the reverse, otherwise, extremely fine.



The date AH 96 is significant as it falls at the end of al-Walīd’s reign, shortly before the accession of Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Malik.