'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Mansur, AH 136-158 / AD 754-775. Dinar (Gold, 19 mm, 4.22 g, 1 h), no mint, AH 152 = AD 769/70. 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 that He may cause it to prevail over all religion’ in Arabic). Rev. Central field, in three lines: Muḥammad / rasūl / Allāh (‘Muḥammad / Messenger / of God’ in Arabic). Margin: bi-sm Allāh ḍuriba hādhā al-dīnār sanat thinatayn wa khamsīn wa miʾa (‘In the name of God, this dinar was struck in the year one hundred and fifty-two’ in Arabic). Album 212. Bernardi 51. SICA III, 54-55. Very rare. Minor scratches and a small scuff on the obverse, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.


An interesting feature of this issue is the orthography of the date, where the word ithnatayn (اثنتین) appears as thinatayn (ثنتین), omitting the initial alif. Such orthographic variations are occasionally encountered on early ʿAbbāsid coinage and provide useful insight into contemporary engraving practices and early Arabic epigraphic usage.