Coins of Sultan Hasan
Type:
Coins
Date:
1358/9,
1350
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Egypt
Dimensions:
Copper coin approx. 2.3 cm; average weight, 4.18 g.,
Gold coin 2.7 cm; 7.5 g
Description:
Sultan Hasan—Nasir al-Din al-Nasir Hasan ibn al-Nasir Muhammad—reigned from 1347 to 1351 and again from 1354 to 1361, building the great complex in Cairo that bears his name during his second period of rule. The disrupted reign reflects the instability of the period, when bubonic plague ravaged Mamluk lands (and beyond) and the young Hasan, only eleven when he first ascended the throne, competed with his brothers and his regent.
The obverse of Sultan Hasan's copper coins give his name and genealogy, in four lines. The reverse contains the mint name and the date, often enclosed in an eight-pointed star surrounded by tiny flowers and dots. These new copper coins (fulus al-judad), significantly heavier than the earlier Mamluk ones, were produced in very large quantities until the end of the fourteenth century. The historian al-Maqrizi, writing (later) about events in 1368, says that before these new copper coins were available, residents of Alexandria paid for their groceries with pieces of bread.
Hasan's gold coins were larger than previous dinars to accommodate Qur'anic excerpts on the obverse (suras 3 and 9) and his titles on the reverse: "the sultan, the victorious king, defender of the world and the faith, Hasan son of the victorious king Muhammad," all in a distinctive tall script.
The obverse of Sultan Hasan's copper coins give his name and genealogy, in four lines. The reverse contains the mint name and the date, often enclosed in an eight-pointed star surrounded by tiny flowers and dots. These new copper coins (fulus al-judad), significantly heavier than the earlier Mamluk ones, were produced in very large quantities until the end of the fourteenth century. The historian al-Maqrizi, writing (later) about events in 1368, says that before these new copper coins were available, residents of Alexandria paid for their groceries with pieces of bread.
Hasan's gold coins were larger than previous dinars to accommodate Qur'anic excerpts on the obverse (suras 3 and 9) and his titles on the reverse: "the sultan, the victorious king, defender of the world and the faith, Hasan son of the victorious king Muhammad," all in a distinctive tall script.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
10
Repository and Online Resources:
• The copper coin is in the collection of the American Numismatic Society.
• The gold coin is in The David Collection, Copenhagen.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons (American Numismatic Society); The David Collection, Copenhagen, photographs by Pernille Klemp
