'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Wathiq, AH 227-232 / AD 842-847. Dinar (Gold, 20 mm, 3.13 g, 12 h), citing the caliph al-Wāthiq bi-llāh and the local governor Ītākh (al-Turkī AH 230-231), San'a, AH 231 = AD 845/6. Central field, in four lines: lā ilāha illā / Allāh waḥdahu / lā sharīka lahu / Ītākh (also read Aytākh) (‘There is no god but God alone, He has no associate’ in Arabic) with the additional name Ītākh, the governor of Yemen. Margin: bi-sm Allāh ḍuriba hādhā al-dīnār bi-Ṣanʿāʾ sanat thalāthīn wa-miʾatayn (‘In the name of God, this dinar was struck in Ṣanʿāʾ in the year two hundred and thirty-one’ in Arabic). Outer margin, partly off flan: li-llāh [al-amr min qablu wa-min baʿd] wa-yawmaʾidhin yafraḥ al-muʾminūn bi-naṣr Allāh (‘To God belongs the command before and after, and on that day the believers will rejoice in the help of God’ in Arabic). Rev. Central field, in five lines: li-llāh / Muḥammad / rasūl / Allāh / al-Wāthiq bi-llāh (‘For God / Muhammad is the Messenger of God / He who relies upon God’ in Arabic). Margin: [Muḥammad rasūl Allāh] arsalahu bi-l-hudā wa-dīn al-ḥaqq li-yuẓhirahu ʿalā al-dīn kullihi [wa-law kariha al-mushrikūn] (‘Muhammad is the Messenger of God, whom He sent with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all religion, even though the polytheists may dislike it’ in Arabic). Album 1052. Bernardi 153 (EI). Very rare. Clipped and with some scuffs, otherwise, very fine.


Yemeni Abbasid dinars of al-Wāthiq are characteristically clipped, to conform to the lighter dinar al-mutawwaq weight standard (circa 2.96 g), reflecting local gold circulation practices. Issues explicitly naming Ītākh as governor are particularly rare.