Which pre-1200 AV Dinars are the purest?

[cliff_marsland]

I don't have all that much interest in Islamic coins (although I do have an interest in Sassanian and Nezak Hun ones), but sometime it'd be nice to get a Dinar, just to have an example of Byzantium's foes.  I'm certainly no expert, but the ones I encounter on my search are usually debased.  Which states and time of issue would be the best to get?  I'm not looking for any rarity, just a common, garden variety Dinar.

[Sri_Sahi]

Most Islamic dinars are (at least theoretically) fine gold. According to the commandment of the Qur'an, "When you measure, give an exact measure and weigh with an accurate scale" (Surah 17:35), the caliphs were responsible for ensuring the purity and weight of the coins, established by the shari'a as seven mithqals of gold to ten dirhams of silver. In the early period (if I'm not mistaken) they were equivalent to the Byzantine solidus. There are some heavily debased "pale" gold dinars from Central Asia but those are the exception. The dinars of the Umayyad caliphs are of high purity and great historical importance. The bull's-eye type of the Fatimids in Egypt is also quite popular. Both good choices.

[cliff_marsland]

Thanks for the good advice!  I never really got into Islamic coins because of the lack of portraits.

The caligraphic ones are  neat.

So, most Dinars are about the same size as a solidus?

[Sri_Sahi]

So, most Dinars are about the same size as a solidus?

They became thinner and broader but at least initially, they were comparable in weight and purity.