'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Rashid, AH 170-193 / AD 786-809. Dinar (Gold, 19 mm, 4.25 g, 5 h), no mint (Misr), AH 192 = AD 807/8. 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: 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 four lines: Muḥammad / rasūl / Allāh / li-l-khalīfa (‘Muḥammad is the Messenger of God / for the caliph’ in Arabic). Margin: bi-sm Allāh ḍuriba hādhā al-dīnār sanat ithnatayn wa-tisʿīn wa-miʾa (‘In the name of God, this dinar was struck in the year one hundred and ninety-two’ in Arabic). Album 218.13. Bernardi 73. SICA III, 171ff. Rare, fresh and lustrous. Small areas of weakness and some doubling, otherwise, extremely fine.


This rare variety belongs to the no-mint dinar series of al-Rashīd traditionally associated with Miṣr. It is distinguished by the formula li-l-khalīfa (‘for the caliph’) placed below the reverse field, a wording not normally present on standard early ʿAbbāsid gold dinars.