ISLAMIC, 'Abbasid Caliphate. al-Hadi, AH 169-170 / AD 785-786. Dirham (Silver, 24 mm, 2.59 g, 2 h), Ifriqiya with Barqa (Kyrenaika), AH 170 = AD 786/7. Rev. 'Bar' above and 'Qa' below the inner reverse legend. SICA III, 438 (under Ifriqiya). Rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. Struck from a slightly corroded reverse die, otherwise, extremely fine.


The rather mysterious mint of Barqa, the ancient Greek city of Barke in Kyrenaika, has only recently been studied by scholars, one of whom, F. Bauden, called its coinage 'a terra incognita' (F. Bauden: The Islamic Coinage of Cyrenaica (Barqa) from the Arab conquest up to the Advent of the Fatimids, in: Numismatica Patavina 13 (2016), p. 388).