Authentic Provenanced Ancient Islamic Silver Dirham Muhammad III

Authentic ancient Islamic silver Dirham coin of Muʿizz al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Sām, also known as Muhammad III from the Shansabani dynasty in modern day Afghanistan. The coin dates to approximately 1203 AH al Suwayra In good condition, with profuse Arabic text on both sides. Diameter: 25.5 mm Weight: 2.70 g Provenance: From the collection of Mr. Samir Shamma (1911-2001). Shamma is one of the pre-eminant names in Islamic Numismatics. Born in Safad, Palestine, he was obliged to leave in 1948, after the town was captured by Israeli forces following the conclusion of British Mandate rule. He subsequently emigrated to Saudi Arabia where he became one of the most successful lawyers of his generation, introducing company and shipping law to the country. His success as a lawyer allowed him to pursue his passion of Islamic coinage, where he acted as patron to major institutions, as well as forming a most remarkable collection of his own. His entire collection of over 9000 coins, including this piece, was catalogued by the Ashmolean Museum Oxford, and is now in the process of being published. We are pleased to have purchased a few of Mr. Shamma's collection - each coin comes with its own paper inventory folder listing references etc. See the series Sylloge of Islamic coins in the Ashmolean Museum.