EARLY MEDIEVAL & ISLAMIC. Arab-Byzantine coinage. Pre-reform period, A.H. 41-77 / A.D. 661-697. Bronze Fals (2.19g). Amman (Philadelphia) mint. Caliph standing facing, right hand resting on pommel of sheathed sword at side / Stylized cross set on three steps; star in right field. Goodwin 60 var. (star in left field); Walker, Arab-Byzantine p. 39, A4; Album 112. gVF for this very difficult and rare type. Much superior to most sold examples, especially those without the mint-name at right on the reverse. A transitional type of the early Umayyad period, struck just before the sweeping reforms of Abd al-Malik, this issue still carries strong Byzantine echoes while quietly asserting emerging Islamic authority. Struck at the Amman (Philadelphia) mint, it is a rare and appealing witness to the experimentation and regional diversity that shaped the first generations of Islamic coinage. Cf; Nomos 36/957 hammered US$450 and CNG 432/403 hammered US$525.

Estimate: AUD 500