ABBASID: al-Muqtadir, 908-932, AV donative double dinar (8.58g), Madinat al-Salam, AH299, A-Y245, standard design as on the normal dinar (A-245.2), but produced with larger dies on a broader planchet (29mm), which is the same for silver dirhams of Madinat al-Salam around AH299; trace of mount at the top, light scrape on reverse; a most important issue of al-Muqtadir, apparently unknown for any mint or date and unique, NGC graded UNC details. The weight is correct for a double dinar, with the single dinar standard at 4.26g, though individual specimens of Madinat al-Salam show considerable deviations, typically weighing between about 3.25g and 4.75g by the time of al-Muqtadir. Twice that standard would be 8.52g, and the weight of this piece, with a few hundredths of a gram added by the remaining portion of the mount, is indeed correct. The style and arrangement is identical to the contemporary silver dirhams of Madinat al-Salam, but the denomination is boldly al-dinar rather than al-dirham, with no evidence that the denomination had been altered. The calligraphy and arrangement are identical to both silver dirhams and gold dinars of Madinat al-Salam dated AH299 and for others dated between 297 and the early 300s. While there are surprisingly heavy normal dinars, sometimes up to 7 grams, such heavy dinars are not known for Madinat al-Salam, observed mainly for the mints around al-Ahwaz. Furthermore, the gold dinars are struck with much smaller dies, typically in the range of 21.5mm to 24.5mm. This difference confirms that this was struck from special broad dies meant for this special type, which might have been produced for a normal circulating double dinar, though given its exceeding rarity it must have been produced as a donative or presentational piece.See Baldwins ICA 24, lot 4488 for the silver dirham, also 29mm diameter, and CNG E-Auction 450, lot 469, for the ordinary gold dinar.
