Egypt AH 637 dinar
This specimen was lot 415 in Steve Album Auction 54 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2026), where it sold for $1,020. The catalog description[1] noted, "AYYUBID: Abu Bakr II, 1238-1240, AV dinar, al-Qahira, AH637, strong strike, XF." The Ayyubids were a Kurdish clan who conquered first Syria and later Egypt, terminating the Fatimid Caliphate. The most famous ruler was Saladin (r. 1174-93), adversary of the Crusaders, but the dynasty survived until 1260, when it was overthrown by the Mamluks. Wikipedia comments,
"Al-Malik al-ʿĀdil Sayf ad-Dīn Abū Bakr ibn Nāṣir ad-Dīn Muḥammad (Arabic: سيف الدين الملك العادل أبو بكر بن ناصر الدين محمد, better known as al-Adil II) (c. 1221-1248) was the Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt from 1238 to 1240. When his father al-Kamil, nephew of Saladin, died in 1238, al-Adil II followed him somewhat unprepared. When the country plunged into anarchy, his exiled half-brother, as-Salih Ayyub, seized the opportunity and deposed him. Al-Adil died in prison eight years later."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: gold, this specimen 5.32 g.
Catalog reference: A-818.
- Album, Stephen, Checklist of Islamic Coins, 3rd Ed. Santa Rosa, Stephen Album Rare Coins, 2011.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Hanbing Feng, Auction 54, featuring selections from the Kenneth A. Bovenkamp Collection of Ottoman Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2025.
Link to:
- Egypt AH 616 dinar, al-Kamil Muhammad I
- Egypt AH 648 dinar, Shajar al-Durr
- Coins and currency dated 1239