Samanid dirham

This coin is a dirham struck in Ash-Shash (283 AH/896 CE), present-day Tashkent, Uzbekistan, during the reign of the Samanid dynasty. It was struck by the ruler, Emir Ismail ibn Ahmad (849–907 CE). From the early decades of the 9th century to the beginning of the 11th century, the Samanid dynasty ruled an area that extended from present-day Afghanistan to the border of Pakistan at its largest.

The front face of the coin contains information about the ruler who struck it and the year of minting, with the profession of faith in the middle, “There is no god but God”. The text in the middle of the back face reads “To God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God,” with the names of the caliph and the ruler below it. The coin is perforated in two places, one of which still has a rivet and loop. The coin was worn as jewellery. The coin was included in a hoard found in Väärämaa, Sysmä, in 1870, which contained Islamic coins, German and English pennies as well as other silverware and jewellery. The hoard contained at least 98 coins, which could have been hidden sometime after 1006.