THE STANDING CALIPH DINAR

Anyone who is an avid collector of rare coins will understand the value of the Standing Caliph Dinar, which is newly discovered to be of the first ever attempts of issuance of a promissory note by Abd Al-Malik bin Marwan the 5thUmayyad Caliph - a fiat currency that had been circulated for few years during Abd Al-Malik`s reign in the 7th century.

This rarest Umayyad gold coin shown in the picture is now in hand – explicitly declaring Damascus as a mint for the Standing Caliph Dinar (the “Dinar”), and recovering centuries after it has been long hidden. This Dinar minted by Caliph Abd Al-Malik engraved with valuable meanings is of the highest historical value between all.

Promissory Note Attempt by Caliph Abd Al-Malik

Back in a time where people would measure wealth through weight in gold, silver & bronze, it was really cumbersome to carry an exorbitant amount of coins lest they are mugged by robbers along the way or the efforts and time instead of the efficiency we have with banknotes today.

Caliph Abdul Malik attempted to do what was foreign to the minds of the people at that time which is by issuing a currency that would ease the trade, simplify money transfer and significantly enhance the economy. The currency is called the Standing Caliph Dinar which weighs 4.25g of gold but had a much higher value than its weight at its time. Thus, this sounds, at the first glance, weird and falls within the forbidden Gharar. But, on contrary, Abd Al-Malik was intelligent enough not to make such a mistake as the said extra virtual value was promised and guaranteed by the Caliphate. This guarantee is obvious on the Dinar as per the words struck on its Reverse, i.e, For the Slave of Allah Abd Al-Malik the Commander of the Believers. Moreover, the word “Dinar” is not struck on the same so the value thereof is open. In other words, this was, in effect, a promise to pay the bearer in coins by either gold or silver as per the corresponding value at the time of circulation, i.e, a promissory note.

Dr. Samir Al-Khadim the President of the Arab Institute for East & West Studies is the first to call the standing caliph dinars Aristocratic Dinars due to the value of the Dinar that was higher than its weight of gold during its circulation at that time.

In spite of the glorious vision of Caliph Abd Al-Malik, this promissory note was not meant to last. The Standing Caliph Dinar was canceled between 76AH-77AH (695-696) and that is the main reason behind the extreme rarity thereof.

To read the complete article, see:
The Standing Caliph Dinar Minted in Damascus; Umayyad Promissory Note… (http://yazaneltal.hubpages.com/hub/Discovery-of-The-Standing-Caliph-Dinar-Minted-in-Damascus-The-First-Ever-Promissory-Note)

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