Fatimid, al-Muizz (AH 341-365 / 953-975 AD), gold Dinar

Fatimid, al-Mu'izz (AH 341-365 / 953-975 AD), gold Dinar, AH 361 / 971/2 AD, Makkah, 4.19g (N. unlisted, see N. 385 for year AH 363). About Extremely Fine, minor edge scuff , otherwise sharply struck. One of the rarest coins of Islamic world. One previous example known on the market of the same type, dating from AH 363, sold in Morton & Eden, Auction 95/96, 24 October 2018, lot 124 hammered for £160,000. More later-date Dinars struck in Makkah (AH 364 and 365 respectively) are listed by Nicol, although not pictured. This earlier date Dinar is not listed by Nicol.Coins struck in the Holy City of Makkah are greatly prized by the collectors of Islamic series. Coins struck by Fatimids in Makkah are extremely rare and there are only a handful of examples known to ever come to the market and become available to collectors, especially of this type. The iconic so-called bullseye type gold Dinars of Fatimids are often admired for their artistic prowess and are widely regarded as the signifi ers of economic prosperity of the Fatimid Caliphate and its territorial expansion in the years when this coin was struck.As the power of the Abbasid Caliphs in Makkah waned under al-Muqtadir and his successors, the power was increasingly seized by the local sharifs from the early 10th century AD onwards. The main threat to Makkah during this period came from the Qarmatids, who att acked the Holy City in 930 AD and took the holy Black Stone from the Kaaba. Kafur, Ikhshidid ruler and an Abbasid vassal, persuaded the Qarmatids to return the Black Stone to Makkah in return for an annual tribute. Kafur was one of the most powerful men in Hejaz region at the time. After his death in 968 AD, a power void occurred and Ikhshidid succession was disputed. The Fatimids used this instability to their advantage and started establishing a strong presence in the region and especially in Holy City of Makkah, where the sharifs accepted Fatimid authority. The political turmoil of Ikhshidids gave Fatimid Caliph al-Mu’izz a chance to advance rapidly into Egypt, continuing into Palestine and Syria, occupying Damascus in 970 AD. In 974 AD, al-Mu’izz was offi cially recognized in the khutbah in both Makkah and Madina, even though his over-arching authority was acknowledged earlier. It is safe to infer that there are only a few coins which testify to that, which are in the name of al-Mu’izz and minted in Makkah before 974 AD - this is one of them. In literature, there is only one other one listed in Nicol which is not a full Dinar. An extremely rare and special find for a collector of the Fatimid series, which has an important place in history.