Early Islamic Umayyad Bronze Fals (about 1,335-1,325 years ago)

The Umayyad Transitional Bronze Fals (AH 60–70 / AD 680–690) is a historically pivotal coin from the earliest decades of Islamic rule. Struck roughly fifty years after the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad, this NGC-certified bronze fals represents the formative stage of Islamic coinage — a moment when the expanding Umayyad Caliphate adapted existing Byzantine monetary structures while gradually shaping its own distinct identity.

These transitional issues retain the structural framework of Byzantine folles but modify the imagery to reflect new religious and political realities. The obverse commonly depicts a standing caliphal figure in a pose derived from Byzantine imperial iconography, yet with overt Christian symbols such as crosses removed or altered. The reverse often features a large “M” denomination mark inherited from Byzantine prototypes, accompanied by emerging Kufic Arabic inscriptions. In some cases, elements of the shahada begin replacing earlier Greek legends, signaling a profound ideological shift.

Minted across key provincial centers — including Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt — these coins circulated widely as the Islamic empire rapidly expanded across former Byzantine territories. They bridge two monetary worlds: the late antique Roman system and the distinctly Islamic reform that would follow under Caliph Abd al-Malik in AH 77 (AD 696–697), when fully epigraphic Islamic coinage was introduced.

For collectors, this bronze fals embodies the birth of Islamic monetary tradition. It preserves the “skeleton” of Byzantine design while revealing the emergence of Islamic religious and political authority — a tangible witness to one of history’s most consequential transitions in faith, governance, and economic power.