How to Identify the Islamic Gold Dinar (LACMA M.2006.143.8)

Start by confirming the type is aniconic. A genuine medieval Islamic dinar shows only Arabic calligraphy — no portrait, animal or figure — with the same text-based treatment on both faces. The LACMA piece follows exactly that pattern: inscriptions on the obverse and a calligraphic reverse enclosed by a decorative border. Establishing that the coin is purely inscriptional is the first and most decisive step, since it rules out Roman, Byzantine and European gold at once.

Read the legends in order, because the wording is the attribution. Look at both the inner field and any outer marginal band on each side: the fields usually carry the profession of faith and religious phrases, while the margins typically name the mint city, give the year of striking in Arabic words, and cite the ruling caliph or dynast. Photograph or transcribe every line even if you cannot read Arabic — a specialist uses the exact wording to place the coin with a dynasty such as the Umayyads, Abbasids or Fatimids and to a specific mint and date. For this specimen, the LACMA catalogue record is the primary source for whatever attribution it carries.

Measure and weigh the coin. The classical dinar standard is roughly 4.2–4.3 grams, so weight relative to diameter is an early authenticity screen; a piece far off standard, or one that responds to a magnet, is a warning sign. Note the diameter and thickness, and expect some irregularity in flan shape and strike, since these are hand-struck medieval coins rather than machine-made. Do not treat the yellow color as proof of metal — gilt and plated copies exist.

Be alert to look-alikes and copies. Calligraphic dinars were imitated across many issuers, so a similar layout — even a similar decorative border — does not by itself fix the dynasty; only the legends do. The field also contains modern cast reproductions, tourist replicas and outright forgeries of Islamic gold. Cast copies tend to show soft, mushy detail, seams or surface bubbles and often the wrong weight, whereas genuine struck dinars have crisp, confident calligraphy and sharp relief.

Apply firm authentication caution before paying a premium. Insist on the coin being weighed and measured, have its metal independently tested by specific gravity or non-destructive assay, and have the legends read by a specialist in Islamic numismatics. When the inscriptions cannot be read or the provenance is unknown, keep the attribution — and any valuation — provisional.