FORVM`s Classical Numismatics Discussion Board

Numismatic and History Discussion Forums => Medieval, Islamic and Crusader Coins Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Papinian on March 23, 2019, 04:59:51 am

Title: Unknown Lion / Sun Face Type
Post by: Papinian on March 23, 2019, 04:59:51 am
Dear Forum Friends,

So far I was not able to identify the following coin:

Diameter: 18mm
Weight: 1.42

The famous Lion/Sun Face depiction, first used by Kay Khusraw II., had been copied many times during the next centuries. You have Artuqids, Ağ Qoyunlu or the Ilkhans, who used this depiction on their bronze coins. But most of those pieces are of a distinctively different style.
Our coin however is stylistically much closer to the Lion/Sun Face types struck by Kay Khusraw II. The style of the obverse seems to resemble very rare half-dirhams from his reign. Also the weight is the correct one for this denomination, but it is not in Broome or in Izmirlier and the reverse is different.

The legend in five lines within a double line six-pointed star reverse is known from coins of the Artuqids from Mardin from around the same period, respectively a few years earlier.
Broome notes that the lion/sun face type 'ran only from 638 - 641 AH'. Maybe our coin was minted soon after AH 639, when Kay Khusraw II attacked the Ayyubids in south-east Anatolia and captured the important city of Amid?

I would be very happy to hear your thoughts about this coin. Maybe I am on the wrong track with my thoughts.

Thank you!
Best,
Papinian
Title: Re: Unknown Lion / Sun Face Type
Post by: lv88 on May 15, 2019, 12:08:53 pm
Its artuqid, try zeno,ru