Arabia. Rasulid. al-Muzaffar Yusuf I, AH 647-694 / AD 1250–1295. Fals (Bronze, 20 mm, 2.42 g, 10 h), citing the ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Mustaʿṣim bi-llāh, ʿAdan (?), no date. In three panels: al-imām al-Mustaʿṣim / bi-llāh amīr al-muʾminīn / ʿAdan (?) (‘The Imam al-Mustaʿṣim / bi-llāh, Commander of the Believers / ʿAdan (?)’ in Arabic). Rev. In three lines: / al-sulṭān al-malik / al-Muẓaffar Shams al-Dīn / Yūsuf bin ʿUmar (‘The Sultan, the King / al-Muẓaffar Shams al-Dīn / Yūsuf ibn ʿUmar’ in Arabic). Album 1103. Cf. Zeno 84263. Extremely rare. Cleaned with some scratches and deposits, otherwise, good fine.



The present bronze fals is especially interesting for the possible appearance of the mint-name ʿAdan (Aden) in the obverse field. Aden was one of the great commercial ports of the medieval Islamic world, serving as a major center of international trade linking Arabia, East Africa, India, and the Persian Gulf. If the reading is correct, the coin would represent a very rare Rasulid bronze issue attributable to this important maritime city.