Dirham imitation from Volga Bulgaria

An imitation of a Samanid dynasty dirham, struck in Suar, Volga Bulgaria (338–347 AH/948–959 CE). It was struck by the ruler, Talib b. Ahmad. The front and back faces of the coin show religious texts in Arabic. Apart from epitaphs, no written sources from Volga Bulgaria have been preserved, so Arabic source materials are used in research. Suar and Bolghar were the central cities of Volga Bulgaria, and it is possible that coins were mainly struck in these two cities. The City of Bolghar was along the main trade routes. The Volga Bulgars lived in a trading state that existed between ca. the 9th and 14th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River.

This coin was included in a hoard found in 1895 in Nikkilä, Nousiainen, which contained more than 1,600 coins and some silverware. A significant number of the coins in the hoard were German pennies, of which more than 1,100 were found, but there were also many English and Scandinavian coins as well as some Italian, Irish, Byzantine and Islamic coins. The hoard also included jewellery, such as rings and buckles. The objects had been hidden sometime after ca. 1045.