Crusader Imitations of Islamic Dirhams. Circa 1251-1291 CE. Half Dirham (Silver, 16 mm, 1.37 g, 12 h), cross pattée and fleur-de-lis variety, Akka (Acre), 1251. Cross pattée in center, dividing the legend. Field within square, in two lines: al-Ab / wa-l-Ibn (‘The Father / and the Son’ in Arabic); in margin: ḍuriba bi-ʿAkkā / sana alf wa-miʾatayn / wa-aḥad wa-khamsīn / li-tajassud al-Masīḥ (‘Struck at ʿAkkā in the year one thousand two hundred and fifty-one of the Incarnation of the Messiah’ in Arabic). Rev. Fleur-de-lis in center. Field within square, in two lines: wa-l-Rūḥ / al-Qudus (‘And the Holy Spirit’ in Arabic). Margin: lahū al-majd / ilā abad / al-ābidīn āmīn āmīn (‘His is the glory forever and ever, amen, amen’ in Arabic). Balog/Yvon 46. CCS 18. Jeselsohn IV 667. Metcalf, Crusades 232. Wäckerlin 242. Zeno 73181 (this coin). An extremely rare variety. Nicely toned. Some scratches and minor areas of weakness, otherwise, good very fine.



This extremely rare variety belongs to the Christian Arabic dirham coinage of ʿAkkā, introduced in 1251 CE as part of the short-lived Crusader attempt to replace Islamic-style Ayyubid imitations with coins bearing explicitly Christian legends in Arabic. The broader series is famous for its unusual combination of Arabic script and Christian doctrine.

The combination of devices gives this variety particular importance within the series. The cross pattée occupies the center of the obverse legend naming the Father and Son, while the fleur-de-lis stands between the words referring to the Holy Spirit on the reverse. The variety is very rarely encountered and may be unique in this exact arrangement; in any case, it is among the rarest and most visually distinctive subtypes of the Acre Christian Arabic series.

The marginal dating formula, li-tajassud al-Masīḥ, 'of the Incarnation of the Messiah,' remains of exceptional numismatic importance. It gives the date according to the Christian era, written in Arabic words, rather than by the Hijri calendar. This places the issue among the earliest coinages to bear an Anno Domini date, while still using Arabic language.