Mongols. Great Khans. Uncertain rulers, AD 1220s-1230s. Dinar (Gold, 26 mm, 5.00 g, 5 h), anonymous type citing the ʿAbbasid caliph al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh, heavy-weight issue, Badakhshan, no date. Central field, in four lines: Badakhshā(n) / lā ilāha illā / Allāh Muḥammad/ rasūl Allāh (‘Badakhsha(n); There is no deity but God; Muḥammad is the Messenger of God’ in Arabic). Margin (Qurʾān 9:33): [Muḥammad rasūl Allāh] arsalahu bi-l-hudā [wa-dīn al-ḥaqq li-yuẓhirahu ʿalā al-dīn kullihi wa-law kariha al-mushrikūn] (‘[Muḥammad is the Messenger of God], whom He sent with guidance [and the religion of truth that He may cause it to prevail over all religion, even though the polytheists may dislike it]’ in Arabic). Rev. Central field, in four lines: al-Nāṣir li-D / īn Allāh a / mīr al-muʾ / minīn (‘al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh, Commander of the Believers’ in Arabic). Margin: [ḍuriba hādhā al-dīnār(?) bi-Badakh]shān bi-tārīkh-i al-sā ... (‘This dinar(?) was struck in Badakhshān, dated …’ in Arabic; remainder unclear). Album A1967. SNAT XIVc:396 (same obverse die). Extremely rare. Faint scratches on the obverse, some doubling and areas of weakness, otherwise, very fine.



These anonymous early Mongol gold dinars of Badakhshān are among the most enigmatic issues of the series. All known specimens appear to derive from the same pair of dies and are usually described as undated. However, the marginal inscription on this specimen clearly contains the phrase bi-tārīkh ('dated'), strongly suggesting that a year originally followed and that the difficulty lies in reading the subsequent word rather than in the absence of a date formula.

Equally noteworthy is the unusual word preceding Badakhshān in the marginal legend. This element does not correspond to the normal mint formula and may represent either an otherwise unattested denomination name or a qualifying epithet associated with the mint. The possibility of a denomination term is further supported by the remarkable variation in the weight of surviving examples. While the present specimen weighs a full 5.00 g, another specimen offered in the same auction weighs only 1.79 g, a difference that is unusual for contemporary gold coinage and may indicate that coins of identical design were struck in more than one denomination.

If correct, this interpretation would imply that these Badakhshān issues represent a more complex monetary series than previously recognized. The present coin is therefore of considerable importance, preserving key evidence for understanding one of the least studied gold emissions of the early Mongol period.