Coin

Art Historical Context

This copper coin, minted in A.H. 169 (785 CE), hails from the early Abbasid Caliph, a golden age of Islamic civilization centered in Baghdad. As part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Islamic collection—acquired through the Rogers Fund in 1939—it exemplifies the numismatic artistry of the period, when coins served not just as currency but as vital historical records. These small copper pieces, known as *fulus*, circulated widely in everyday trade across the vast empire, from Mesopotamia to North Africa. Artistically, Islamic coins like this one marked a departure from pre-Islamic traditions...