PREV ARTICLE
NEXT ARTICLE
FULL ISSUE
PREV FULL ISSUE
V25 2022 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE ISLAMIC STATE COINAGE OFFEREDIn the shameless-self-promotion department, the Stephen Album Rare Coins Internet Auction 18 includes a consignment of mine - the ISIS coins I acquired and wrote about back in 2018. See the earlier E-Sylum articles for more information. Four pieces are mine, and the fifth is from another consignor. -Editor 
Lot 1658: Copper 5 Fils SYRIA: Islamic State, AE 5 fils (3.12g), AH1438, inscribed al-dawla al-islamiya / khilâfat 'ala minhaj al-nabuwa ("Islamic state / a caliphate that follows the guidance of the Prophethood"), inscribed "3 grams copper", denomination in center // three palm trees and the date within ornamental border, EF, ex Wayne Homren Collection. The Islamic State gold dinar was the de-jure currency of the Islamic State from 2014 to 2019. It is subdivided into silver dirhams and copper fulûs, and it has its origins in the historical gold dinar. In 2016, one gold dinar was exchanged for 190 U.S. dollars or 91 British pounds. A series of coins divided between gold dinars, silver dirhams and copper fulûs were released, seeing limited circulation in Syria. Further information regarding the use and origin of these coins can be found in articles published in the weekly E-Sylum newsletter, with the most comprehensive article in Volume 21, Number 52, December 2018, Article #10. 
Lot 1659: Copper 10 Fils SYRIA: Islamic State, AE 10 fils (6.22g), AH1438, inscribed al-dawla al-islamiya / khilâfat 'ala minhaj al-nabuwa ("Islamic state / a caliphate that follows the guidance of the Prophethood"), inscribed "6 grams copper", denomination in center // ancient bow, arrow, and shield, plus the date, all within ornamental border, EF, ex Wayne Homren Collection.
To read the complete lot description, see:
Lot 1660: Copper 25 Fils SYRIA: Islamic State, AE 25 fils (15.22g), AH1438, inscribed al-dawla al-islamiya / khilâfat 'ala minhaj al-nabuwa ("Islamic state / a caliphate that follows the guidance of the Prophethood"), inscribed "15 grams copper", denomination in center // phrase al-sadqa afdal jahd al-muqill ("charity is the best effort against poverty"), date below, within ornamental border, EF, ex Wayne Homren Collection.
To read the complete lot description, see:
Lot 1661: Silver 1 Dirham SYRIA: Islamic State, AR dirham (3.02g), AH1438, inscribed al-dawla al-islamiya / khilâfat 'ala minhaj al-nabuwa ("Islamic state / a caliphate that follows the guidance of the Prophethood"), inscribed "3 grams 99.9 silver", denomination in center // minârat dimashq al-bayda' ("the white minaret of Damascus") and view of the mosque, date above, within ornamental border, EF, ex Wayne Homren Collection.
To read the complete lot description, see:
Lot 1662 : Silver 5 Dirhams SYRIA: Islamic State AR 5 dirhams (15.00g), AH1437, inscribed al-dawla al-islamiya / khilâfat 'ala minhaj al-nabuwa ("Islamic state / a caliphate that follows the guidance of the Prophethood"), inscribed "15 grams 99.9 silver", denomination in center // phrase al-sadqa afdal jahd al-muqill ("charity is the best effort again poverty"), date below, within ornamental border, text cut on the edge (to confirm the silver), VF-EF, RR.
To read the complete lot description, see:
Researcher Oliver Moos published a detailed article on this coinage - The Return of the Gold Dinar – An analysis of the Islamic State coin production. He wrote to me: "The E-Sylum proved indeed very helpful to support some of my hypotheses." -Editor
The authenticity of these specimens is solid, a robust body of evidence indicates that they were produced and distributed by the Islamic States in Syria and/or Iraq as of 2016. We compared several collections of coins (i.e. four sets of six coins ranging from 1 gold dinar to 5 fils, unfortunately none including the 5 gold dinar) and all collections were identical in size, weight and design and were provided by different sources based in Syria. It is worth noting, however, that only the set illustrated in this article went through a spectrometric analysis. The Syrian sources from Raqqa with whom Religioscope conducted interviews in the spring of 2018 explained that a substantial number of their countrymen had hoarded dinars and dirhams before quickly selling or melting them as soon as the followers of the Caliph had retreated. It is likely they also melted these down to avoid being accused as sympathizers or members of the Islamic State by the new occupying forces.
To read the complete Oliver Moos paper, see:
It was a delight to research and acquire these pieces with the assistance of E-Sylum readers. It was numismatics happening in real time - collecting numismatic artifacts shortly after the time of their issue, directly from people who acquired them first-hand in the location of their issuance. This is how rarities get rescued from the melting pot. -Editor
To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
|