Arabia. Sulayhids. 'Ali ibn Muhammad, AH 439-473 / AD 1047-1081. Dinar (Electrum, 21 mm, 2.25 g). Shiʿa kalima in three lines in a pseudo-Kufic style, ‘lā ilāha illā Allāh / Muḥammad rasūl Allāh / ʿAlī walī Allāh’ (‘There is no deity but Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. Ali is the friend of Allah’ in Arabic); mint and date formula around in a pseudo-Kufic style consisting of horizontal and vertical lines. Rev. Pseudo-Kufic legend citing the Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir (AH 427-487 / AD 1036-1094) before the ruler’s name; pseudo-Kufic legend in the outer margin consisting of horizontal and vertical lines. Album 1075.3. Some areas of weakness, scratches and small die breaks, otherwise, very fine.


This is probably a Hamdanid imitation of a Sulayhid dinar to facilitate trade across the Red Sea in what is now Ethiopia or Eritrea.