Numismatic Auction #22

ARAB-BYZANTINE: Standing Caliph, ca. 690-698, AE fals (3.28g), Ayla, ND, A-3545A, unusually broad image of the caliph on obverse / standard reverse for this type, VF, RRR. There has been a long debate over whether the mint name on this coin refers to Ayla, now Eilat at the southern edge of Israel, together with Aqaba directly across the border in Jordan, or is simply an engraver's typo for Iliya (Aelia Capitolina), then the current name for Jerusalem. Surprisingly, the form Ayla appears on both these pre-reform Arab-Byzantine coins and the post-reform fulus. In both cases, the style is identical to the regular issues of Iliya, except for the 8-point star above the cursive m on the pre-reform issues. One may argue that the identical style and calligraphy suggest a single mint, where ayla was merely a typo. Contrarily, one can argue that the stylistic similarity occurred because the dies were produced by the same engravers, or even that the coins were struck at a single location, then distributed to the named cities. In the early Islamic period, an important copper smelting factory was located at or near Ayla, which would suggest some sort of commercial relationship between the two locations. At present, the dilemma remains unresolved, but current opinion seems to favor the separation of Iliya and Ayla as two separate locations, irrespective of where the dies or the coins were produced.