Early Islamic Copper Coins from Southern Bilad ash-Sham: An Overview

Abstract

The recent publication of two large collections of early Islamic post-reform copper coins (fulūs) stimulated me to discuss the mints and types that were produced in the Early Islamic provinces of Filastin and al-Urdunn, which comprise modern Israel. A die analysis that I conducted for some of the smaller mints, while not completely uniform, often attests to a remarkably large number of coins per die. The larger picture of the patterns of coin production in the Umayyad period, when compared with the subsequent ‘Abbasid period, is also considered.