Balog, P. "Fatimid
Glass Jetons: Token Currency or Coin-Weights?" in
JESHO, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Jan., 1981), pp. 93-109.
Balog, P. "The
Fatimid Glass Jeton" in
Annali del Instituto Italiano di Numismatica, vol. 18-19 (1971-72), pp. 121-212. (
B FGJ)
Background
"Glass was used in
Egypt for items that were traditionally classified as
weights but are now believed to have also been used as jetons from the
Fatimid to Mamluk periods. Copper coinage is virtually unknown for the Fatimids, because it was replaced by glass-paste jetons. These jetons almost never give the name of the mint (and then always
Misr) and are infrequently dated. The glass-paste jetons were usually manufactured with great care, and when undamaged, are normally fully legible. Jetons recovered from the Nile are often abraded and partially devitrified. Their desirability is related not
just to
type and condition, but also to color and elegance of their
epigraphy. While greenish translucent
glass is most common, other colors and other degrees of opaqueness are generally rarer and more desirable." - Stephen
Album,
Checklist of Islamic Coins, page 95.
"The idea that the glass-paste jetons were coins is not universally accepted, though in my opinion, it was persuasively argued by
Balog. Similar glass-paste objects from the Umayyad, 'Abbasid, and Tulunid periods were
weights, many for weighing coins, as their inscriptions clearly indicate, but others for weighing all manor of other material, mostly drugs, including cannabis (Arabic qannab).
Fatimid jetons may also have served as
weights, but their principal function was most likely that of a fiduciary small coinage, as they are found in large quantities, far more than would likely have survived were they intended solely as
weights. There were several denominations, especially during the 5th/11th and early 6th/12th centuries, but these have not yet been clearly distinguished. Up to and including the reign of al-Mustansir, most
glass jetons were made of transparent
glass, now generally greenish as the result of ageing. Later jetons show a greater variety of color and are often opaque. The opaque jetons are found in many more colors than the translucent." - Stephen
Album,
Checklist of Islamic Coins, page 95.
Glass Jetons Listed in Stephen Album's Checklist of Islamic Coins
Fatimid Cairo Caliphate, 973 - 1171
al-Mu'izz Ma'add, 341-365 / 953-975
Album 702 Glass-paste jeton R
al-'Aziz Nizar, 365-386 / 975-996
708 Glass-paste jeton S
al-Hakim Abu 'Ali al-Mansur, 386-411 / 996-1021
713 Glass-paste jeton, various types & denominations C
Most dated variants were produced during this reign, with the date rather weakly
engraved on the
reverse.
al-Zahir Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali, 411-427 / 1021-1036
718 Glass-paste jeton, various types & denominations S
al-Mustansir Abu Tamim Ma'add, 427-487 / 1036-1094
724 Glass-paste jeton, various types,
weights & denominations C
al-Musta'li Abu'l-Qasim Ahmad, 487-495 / 1094-1101
728 Glass-paste jeton RR
al-Amir Abu ‘Ali al-Mansur, 495-524 / 1101-1130
733 Glass-paste jeton, various types & denominations S
al-Hafiz Abu'-Maymun 'Abd al-Majid, 526-544 / 1131-1149
737 Glass-paste jeton S
al-Zafir Abu'l-Mansur Isma'il, 544-549 / 1149-1154
740 Glass-paste jeton RR
al-Fa'iz Abu'l-Qasim 'Isa, 549-555 / 1154-1160
743 Glass-paste jeton R
al-'Adid Abu Muhammad ‘Abd Allah, 555-567 / 1160-1171
746 Glass-paste jeton R
Ayyubid Sultanate, 1171 - 1260
"However, as the Ayyubids inherited not only
Fatimid institutions and traditions, but also their economic situation, Saladin was obligated to abandon the attempt to restore copper coinage for the simple reason that there were not adequate stocks of copper in the country. Therefor, Saladin continued to issue glass-paste jetons, and so did his successors. However neither he nor his successors put their names on the jetons, but that of the ruling 'Abbasid caliph. Thus those jetons bearing the name of Caliph al-Mustadi can all be attributed to Saladin. Those naming al-Nasir could have been issued by Saladin, by al-'Aziz 'Uthman, by al-Mansur Muhammad, by al-'Adil I, or even by al-Kamil Muhammad before al-Nasir's demise in 622 H. The only ruler who had his own name inscribed on the jetons, without mention of the caliph is al-Kamil Muhammad I. As the
writing is in
Naskhi script, the date of issue of these jetons may be a little before or at the beginning of 622 H. This is the year in which he introduced
Naskhi on the coinage." - Paul
Balog,
The Coinage of the Ayyibids, p. 41.
"The Ayybid jetons, on the other hand, are, from the beginning exclusively made for hard, resistant opaque glass-paste. This of some importance because we can accept the actual
weight of the
Ayyubid jetons as their original
weight at the time of their emission
al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf I (b. Ayyub, "Saladin"), 564-589 / 1169-1193
"Saladin" is a Latinized version of "Salah al-Din" Glass-paste jetons of this reign cite only the ‘Abbasid caliphs
al-Mustadi (1170-1180) or al-Nasir (1180-1225), the latter cast under
Saladin and subsequent
Ayyubid rulers until 1225, without mention of the
Ayyubid. Cast in Cairo, used only in
Egypt.
793.1 Glass-paste jeton, citing the caliph al-Mustadi RR
793.2 Glass-paste jeton, citing the caliph al-Nasir C
al-Kamil Abu'l-Ma'ali Muhammad I (Nasir al-Din, b. Abi Bakr), 615-635 / 1218-1238
Glass-paste jetons of this reign were struck in the name of the ruler, al-Kamil Muhammad. Several minor variants.
"The only ruler who had his own name inscribed on the jetons, without
mention of the caliph is al-Kamil Muhammad I. As the
writing is in
Naskhi script, the date of issue of these jetons may be a little before
or at the beginning of 622 H. This is the year in which he introduced
Naskhi on the coinage." - Paul
Balog,
The Coinage of the Ayyibids, p. 41.
817 Glass-paste jeton R
Anonymous
Ayyubid, For the duration of the dynasty after Saladin, c. 589-652 / 1193-1254
A834
Glass jeton, imitative legends C
Some are obviously imitations of 793 in the name of the caliph al-Nasir. The transitional date between
type 793 and this
type has not yet been determined, nor is it known whether this
type is an official issue or a private imitation of 793. My impression is that the
glass jetons of this period were privately manufactured, with little concern about their appearance or legibility. Only their
weight and general appearance were important.
Burji Mamluk Sultanate, 1382 - 1517
1046 Glass-paste jeton or
weight S
Dozens of personal names or titles, nearly all unidentified from other sources, are found on these jetons. Some bear partial dates, and some may have been produced after the
Ottoman conquest in 922/1517. All are Egyptian and virtually all are uniface. Most types are
rare. The function of these objects remains obscure: were they “coins” or
weights?
Anonymous Burji Mamluk,
anepigraphic & uniface
1047 Glass-paste jeton or
weight,
hexagram design S
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