Dirham - Ayyubid Al-Salih or crusader imitation?

[WelfIV]

Hi all,

I've got an interesting coin that for me looks like an Ayyubid dirham of Al-Salih from Damascus.
But unfortunately I am not able to read the arabic inscription. So I am not sure if it is from the 1st or 2nd reign of Al-Salih or if it is one of those crusader imitations.
Comparing to photos on the internet (for example this one: http://mehmeteti.150m.com/ayyubids/502.htm) I tend to think it might be a crusader imitation, but I am not sure at all.

So I hope that one of the forum members is able to read the inscription and can tell me the mintplace, year and the name of the caliph cited on the coin.
And I'd also like to know if the inscription is correct or if there is something written wrong or in an unusual way.

I appreciate any help.

Regards,
Peter

[Jim Roberts]

Well, I can answer a couple of your questions.  The mint is definitely Damascus and the caliph is al-Mustansir, the one whose name is on the Crusader coins as well as on the originals.  Unfortunately the crucial tens digit of the date is off the flan, other than its final tail, and that's not enough to distinguish between 63x (Ayyubid) and 64x (Crusader imitation).

Everything on your coin appears to be in the standard locations, which is not the case for the internet specimen that you cite.  On that coin the text within the square central fields are fine, but the text in the four outer regions on both sides have been rearranged. For example, the words "bism allah" are supposed to be written in the top segment of the al-Malik side (your right-hand image), and that's done correctly on your coin.  But on the internet specimen those words have been split apart and written in the upper and left-hand segments of the opposite side.

But Crusader copies do exist with the text in the standard arrangement like yours (see Malloy #3).  Without being able to read the date I don't know how to distinguish them.

Jim

[WelfIV]

Hello Jim,

thank you very much for your detailed and informative answer.
It's a pity that the date cannot be read on this coin to distinguish between original Ayyubid and crusader imitation. I had hoped it would be possible or that there is something on the coin that can only be found on one of the two coin types.

Meanwhile I found several very similar crusader coins (all type 3) on zeno.ru and other websites, but also some original coins of al-Salih that look similar to my coin, too.
So I have to label my description card for this coin with "al-Salih or crusader imitation" and a question mark. Well, I don't like those question marks, but as a collector of medieval coins I am used to having lots of question marks in my collection.

Thanks a lot,
Peter

[newcoins]

Hello Peter,
Jim wrote all true.
But in the Zeno is a coin with the same dies with the date. http://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?photo=107374
Regards.
Oleg.

[WelfIV]

Hello Oleg,

thank you very much for your clue. That's indeed a great find.
I hoped to find a die match someday but didn't think that it could be found that soon.

You are absolutely right, the obverse (my right photo) is exactly the same die and the reverse is almost the same but with some very small differences.
So my coin is the same year as the one from zeno.ru and I can happily replace one question mark in my little collection with a certain attribution.

Thanks a lot for your help,
Peter