One of the rarest coins in the world that dates back to 723AD and was made from gold from a mine owned by a successor to the Prophet Muhammad sells for £3.7MILLION
- Umayyad coin was made from gold mined north-west of Mecca in Saudi Arabia
- It carries inscriptions including words ‘Mine of the Commander of the Faithful’
- Only about a dozen are known to exist in private collections or major museums
The Umayyad coin was made from gold mined at a site north-west of what is now Mecca in Saudi Arabia
It may only be the same size as a £1 coin, but this 1,200-year-old dinar is worth a record-breaking 3.7million times as much.
Dating back to 723AD, it was made from gold mined at a site owned by the Caliph, a successor to the Prophet Muhammad, north-west of what is now Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
It became the world’s most valuable Islamic coin yesterday when it sold for £3.7million.
The Umayyad coin, sold at London auctioneers Morton & Eden, carries a number of Islamic inscriptions, as well as the words ‘Mine of the Commander of the Faithful’.
Only about a dozen are known to exist, almost all held in private collections or major museums.
Owned by an anonymous collector, it had been given a pre-sale estimate of £1.6million but attracted worldwide interest.
It carries a number of Islamic inscriptions, as well as the words ‘Mine of the Commander of the Faithful’
It sold to an anonymous bidder over the phone for a hammer price of £3.1million.
With fees added, the buyer paid £3.72million for it.
Morton & Eden coin specialist Stephen Lloyd said: ‘This coin is fabulous. Not only is it beautifully preserved and an astonishing rarity but it is also an important historical document.’
The world record for the most expensive coin sold stands at £7.7million for a 1794 Flowing Hair Dollar that was sold in the US in 2013.