A New Dirham Type of Sultan Isma'il from Trablus (a re-visit)
Fawzan BarrageIn 2000, I informed the readers of as-Sikka of the existence of two examples of a very distinct dirham type of al-Salih Imad al-Din Isma'il minted in Trablus (Tripoli) [see as-Sikka, Summer 2000]. This dirham, which I called type 282D, differed from the coin that Balog published as 282B in his additions and corrections [ANSMN 16 p.137], and the type published by Mitchell as 282C [ANSMN 16 p.183] in several ways. The most notable differences are the mint placement on the obverse as opposed to the reverse ,and the distinctive ornamentation over the sin of Sultan. I have recently acquired a dirham that combines the obverse of 282D with the reverse of 282 B&C, and thus has the mint name on both sides of the coin.
Caption: 1- Balog 282D (as-Sikka Summer 2000).Note the mint name on the obverse as opposed to Balog 282A which sports the mint on the reverse. Also note the distinctive ornament over Sultan.
Caption: 2- Balog 282D variant with the reverse of 282A.Note the mint name on both sides of the coin.
This last coin comes from a direct single purchase. It appears to be unrelated to the hoard from which the two examples of 282D came [See Barrage/Shultz NC 160, 2000] and which was deposited circa 1347H. It is my conviction, based on these facts, that it is statistically improbable that one should run into such a conversion of distinct Trablus dirham types without more examples of type 282D existing in private and public collections. I would urge that examples of the Trablus dirham in collections be re-examined, as I suspect that many 282D examples have been erroneously identified as Balog 282A or B.
