Mongols. Great Khans. Uncertain rulers, AD 1220s-1240s. Dinar (Gold, 23 mm, 3.38 g, 6 h), citing only the ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Nāṣir li-dīn Allāh without any Mongol ruler, uncertain mint, No date. Central field, in five lines: lā ilāha illā / Allāh Muḥammad / rasūl Allāh / al-Nāṣir li-Dīn / Allāh (‘There is no deity but God Muḥammad is the Messenger of God al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh’ in Arabic). Margin: illegible. Rev. Central field, in five lines: al-imām al-a… / ʿẓam al-Nāṣir / li-Dīn Allāh / amīr al-muʾminīn / … (‘The supreme imam al-Nāṣir of the religion of God Commander of the Faithful …’ in Arabic). The word al-aʿẓam appears to contain an additional letter before ʿẓm, and the final word, possibly a mint or denomination, remains uncertain, perhaps Bukhārā. Margin: illegible. Album A-1967. Extremely rare and highly interesting. Bent, some areas of weakness and tinz deposits, otherwise, about extremely fine.



This remarkable early Mongol gold issue is struck entirely in the name of the ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh, with no explicit Mongol name or title. Coins of this kind are historically important because they reflect the earliest phase of Mongol monetary production in formerly Islamic territories, when established caliphal formulas could still be retained as a source of legitimacy.

The type is also notable for its problematic reverse reading. The title al-aʿẓam seems to include an extra letter, and the final word of the reverse field remains uncertain. It may represent a mint name, perhaps Bukhārā, or conceivably some other element such as a denomination.