ORIENTAL NUMISMATIC SOCIETY NOVEMBER 1978

INFORMATION SHEET NO. 20

MAMLUK SEQUINS

by

M.R, BROOME

The gold coinage of the Burji Mamluks was initially struck to a very wide range

of weights, Although it is vossible that the mints aimed to produce a set number of coins from each unit weight of gold, once the struck coins left the mint they must have circulated by weight with the minting process only guaranteeing the fineness of the metal,

During the troubled reigns of Faraj (AH 801-815/1399-1412 AD), two attempts were

made by his administrators to introduce a gold coinage of nominally consistant weight. The first, in the year 800, produced dinars of the traditional Umayyad weight of 4.25 grams but it seems that they failed to find acceptance, perhaps because people had become unaccustomed to dealing in units of that value. The second attempt, made ca 810,used as a model the Venetian ducat of 3.5 grams, which was accepted and copied all around the Mediterranean as a trading currency under the name of the zecchino or sequin. In the event, the Mamluk sequins settled down to a weight of ca 3.4 grams, slightly less than the Venetian currency and were identified by the use of two horizontal lines separating the reverse field into three sections, a design which had been used by previous Mamluk rulers but for copper coins only.

Initially the new coins were produced only at Cairo mint,although some of Fara j’s

pieces do not bear a mint name, but his successor the Caliph al-Musta ‘in also minted them at Damascus, in all probability in recognition of the fact that the

real power at the time lay in Syria rather than in Egypt. Al–Musta’in was replaced as Sultan after only 6 months by Shaykh al-Mahmudi in whose name sequins were struck in Cairo in 815 and 816. The combination of the intense civil wars with outbreaks of plague and several years of low Nile water levels must have greatly reduced international trade with Egypt and, after a second

abortive attempt to reintroduce traditional dinars, the gold currency reverted to the earlier style of relatively uncontrolled but large coins. It was left to Barsbay al-Duqmagi (825-841/1422=1453) to control the quarrelling mamluk amirs

and to encourage the return of trade and prosperity, a process which was helped no doubt by the 100,000 dinars (or ducats) paid as ransom for Janus, the captured king of Cyprus in 829/126, the year in which the minting of sequins was resumed,

To judge from the number of specimens surviving, Barsbay’s sequins must have

been produced in large quantities over the period 829-841 and their distinctive style was maintained until the end of the Mamluk dynasty. Although the horizontal dividers introduced by Faraj were retained, they were increased in number to 3, applied to both sides of the coin and made up of a ‘cable’ of

extended ‘ 25. In general, one side, called here the reverse carries the Kalima, and the other, the Sultan’s name and titles together with the phrase

“azze nasruhu”, The date is written out in full until 857 when a change is made to large clear digits although the practice of using flans very much

smaller than the dies has resulted in the omission of both date and mint from most of the surviving specimens, Only three mints are recorded for the whole series, Cairo, Damascus and Aleppo although a certain number of coins after ca 900, do not show their mint of origin. There are in addition many speimens where the mint name is not visible as the flan is too small or the coin was struck off-centre. — i a

Over the century during which the sequins were the normal Mamluk gold currency,

remarkably little change took place in their basic design. Four issues are knowm where a central cartouche was used on one side as on the silver coins, namely Utnmen, mint? 857, Qatitbay nd. of Aieppo and Qansuh al-Ghuri, Damascus 917-919

and n.m., n.d. but otherwise the design changes are confined to the type of 4 dividers and variations in some sections of the legends. As specimens of this series so often have incomplete legends, it may be of value to note here the main varieties. The normal obverse legend for all sultans except al-Musta’i:mnwho uses his Caliphal titles, follows the pattern of the coins of Barsbay, which have:-

al-Sultan al-Malik al-Ashraf Abu-al-Nasr Barsbay Azze Nasruhu.	Only 7 different	throne-names are used viz. al-Nasir (twice), al-Muayyad (twice) al-Ashraf (6x),	al-‘Aziz, al-Zahir (5x), al-Mansur and al-‘Adil.	The patronymic that follows is	omitted by Faraj and on certain issues of Yusuf and Qansuh al-Ghuri but again
the choice is made from a very limited selection of only 6 names with Abu al-Nasr	used by 8 out of the 13 sultans named	on this series including the last 4 of the	dynasty.	The phrase Azze Nasruhu - May his victory become illustrious - was	first used on the sequins by Shaykh in 816 in place of the Khalad Mulkah of
earlier coins and subsequently omitted only on coins of Yusuf and Uthman.	The	only other change recorded to the obverse legend so far in the whole series, is the	addition of the name of the Sultan’s father in the rare cases where a son	actually followed his father on the Mamluk throne, viz. Faraj bin Barquq, Yusuf	bin Barsbay, Ahmad bin Aynal and Mohammad bin Qa’itbay, the latter adding “May
God have mercy upon hir” to his coins from Damascus.	The reverse legend-have even	less variation than the obverse and normally he,-the Kalima and the Mamluk	exhortation of “Arslah b’al-Hady”.	This latter phrase occasionally moves to the	obverse and is sometimes omitted altogether on e.g., the coins of Ahmad, Temirbugha

the choice is made from a very limited selection of only 6 names with Abu al-Nasr used by 8 out of the 13 sultans named on this series including the last 4 of the dynasty. The phrase Azze Nasruhu - May his victory become illustrious - was first used on the sequins by Shaykh in 816 in place of the Khalad Mulkah of

earlier coins and subsequently omitted only on coins of Yusuf and Uthman. The only other change recorded to the obverse legend so far in the whole series, is the addition of the name of the Sultan’s father in the rare cases where a son actually followed his father on the Mamluk throne, viz. Faraj bin Barquq, Yusuf bin Barsbay, Ahmad bin Aynal and Mohammad bin Qa’itbay, the latter adding “May

God have mercy upon hir” to his coins from Damascus. The reverse legend-have even less variation than the obverse and normally he,-the Kalima and the Mamluk exhortation of “Arslah b’al-Hady”. This latter phrase occasionally moves to the obverse and is sometimes omitted altogether on e.g., the coins of Ahmad, Temirbugha and al-Ashraf Tumanbdy.

The other key component of the design is provided by the horizontal lines which

differentiate the sequins from other Mamluk gold coins, There are 5 main types Plain line 2, Dotted line (a) single shake (b) double seeee

Se “Rigid” cable of ‘Z’s (a) to the left يع + جين‎

(b) to the right وبر‎

Le “Flexible” cable of ‘S’s (a) to the left SHO

(b) to the right Mvosseap al De Indented floriated “coil” Sok OL

Type 4 is an obvious development from type 3 and catalogue descriptions are some-

times insufficiently precise to distinguish between them or even on occasions to decide whether they point to the left or the right. A first attribution to ruler or sometimes to mint of origin can be provided by the type of divider used, Full details are given in the listing at the end of this paper but the general sequence is as follows:-

Faraj, al-Musta ‘in and Shaykh: Type 1 on one side only.

Li Barsbay, Yusuf aud Jaqmaq: Type 3 on both sides. iii Uthman, Type 2 on both sides. — iv Aynal to early Khushqadam; on rev., Damascus -.Type 3 a both sides, wees Cairo - Types 3 or 4 on obv., Types 1 or 2

Vv Late Khushqzdam to Qa’itbay, Types 3,4 or 5, often with different types on each side, There is a Qa’itbay series from Aleppo with Type 4b and central arabesque.

vi Mohammad to al-Ashraf Tumanbay, Type 4 with Damascus normally to the

left only (type ha). There is also a Cairo issue of Qunsuh al-Ghuri of 914-917 with the coil of type 5 on both sides, followed in 918-920 by a mixture of type 4a and 5 on both sides,

It is perhaps worth noting that all coins attributed to Damascus have cables to

the left (Types 3a or 4a) and that cables to tne right (Type 3b or 4b) are recorded only within the period 863-908.

Another potential mark of indentification is the border but on many specimens this is completely off the flan. The usual design is a circular plain or pelleted line but where variations to this are known they are listed at the end of this paper.

Mamluk Sultans namec on Sequins and their Titles 801-815 815-824, 825-841 841 -842 842-857 857-865 865-872 872-904 901 -904 904-905 905-906 904 -922

al-Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir Faraj bin Barqugq al-Imam al-‘Azam al–Musta’in bifAllah Abu al-Fadl al-‘Abbas al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan al-Sultan Catalogue of Coins Ruler Faraj “ al-Musta’ in Shay’ch Barsbay Reign. 801-815 815-824 825-841

al-Malik al-Malik al-Malik al-Malik al-Malik al-Malik al-Malik al-Malik al-Malik

al-Mufayyad Abu al-Nasr Shaykh al-Ashraf Abu al-Nasr Barsbay al-‘Aziz Abu al-Mahasin Yusuf bin Barsbay al-Zahir Abu Sa’id ل‎ al-Mansur Abu al-Sa’adat ‘Uthman al-Ashraf Abu al-Nasr Aynal al-Mufayyad Abu al-Fath Ahmad al-Zahir Abu SaSid Khu shqadam al-Zahir Abu Sa’%id Bilbay al-Malik al-Zahir Abu Said Temirbugha al-Malik al-Ashraf Abu al-Nasr Qa’itbay al-Malik al-Nasr Abu al-Sa’adat Mohammad al-Malik al-Zahir Abu Sa’Sid Qansuh al-Malik al-Ashraf Abu al-Nasr Janbalat al-Malik 31-2431 Abu al-Nasr Tumanbay al-Malik al-Ashraf Abu al-Nasr Qansuh al-Ghuri al-Malik al-‘shraf Abu al-Nasr Tumanbay Divider Mint Dates Type Notes Cairo \(810,812=14\) No dividers on rev. no mint 810,814 “ Cairo 81 5 “ “ ينا‎ ta] Damascus 8 ا‎ Cairo 815,816 2am

Cairo 829-351 434-38 40, 41 3a Border of pellets and diamonds Damascus 3a Border linear multi- lobe

Catalogue of Coins (Continued) Ruler. Yusuf Jaqmagq ييا

“Uthman “ Ahmad “ Khushaadan Bilbay Temirbugha

Qa’itbey “ “ Reign 841-842 842-857 857-865 865-872 872-901 Mint Cairo Cairo Damascus Aleppo Cairo Cairo Cairo Cairo Cairo Cairo Cairo? Cairo Cairo Cairo Cairo Damascus?? Cairo Cairo Cairo Cairo Cairo Aleppo Aleppo Aleppo Alepvo Dates

با5 & كبار تجار 2با8?? 857,859 n.U> 865,866 886,889 879,892? Divider Type 3a 3a 3a 3a 2b 0/2a 3a/1 3af/2b 3,/2a 3b/2a Notes Pellets & Diamonds

Central cartouche and circular border of amulets Dekagram border to obv. Pellets & Diamonds border linear multi-

lobe? “ “ n “ “ “ “ ١ “ “ n Arabesque in centre of obverse

Circular 57٠ cartouche Arabesque in centre of obverse — Catalogue of Coins Ruler Qa ‘Sitbay Mohammad Janbalat

21-41 Tunanbay Qansuh al- Ghuri al-Ashraf Tumanbay Reign 901-901 904-905 905-906 906-922 (Continued Mint?? Cairo Cairo Damascus Damascus no mint? no mint?

no mint? “ “ Cairo Cairo Cairo Damascus Alepoo no mint no mint mint? Dates.no date? no date? 914-917 918-920 917-919,22? 909-911?? no date Divider Type 2a

EME

O/ha

BEE EE

O/ha

2a/ha Notes Date in words Border linear multilobe Centre Dividers coils mint in rev. cartouche Arabesque in c@mtre of obv.

Obv. cartoucne