The earliest Islamic silver coin struck bearing an Arabic date, the first gold dinarissued by the Fatimid dynasty, and an extremely rare Spanish gold dinar of the Muhammad b.Sa'd, are among the highlights of Classical Numismatic Group's first dedicated auction of Islamic coins, to beheld as a live online sale on May 25 in Lancaster, PA.

said Stephen Lloyd, Islamic specialist for Classical Numismatic Group LLC.

CNG Islamic Sale I comprises 224 lots of gold, silver and bronze coinage, with estimates totaling nearly$550,000. Highlights of the sale include:

Lot 24 - An Arab-Sasanian silver drachm dated AH 72 (AD 691/2), the first Islamic silver coin to bear amint and date written in Arabic.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Umayyad Caliphate. temp. 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. AH 65-86 / AD 685-705. AR Drachm (32.5mm, 3.38g, 3h). Dimashq mint. Dated AH 72 / AD 691/2.(https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-5WQUNB/umayyad-caliphate-temp-abd-al-malik-ibn-marwan-ah-65-86-ad-685-705-ar-drachm-325mm-338g-3h-dimashq-mint-dated-ah-72-ad-6912)

Lot 42 - An excessively rare Arab-Sasanian drachm issued by 'Abdallah b. Bastam, one of the rarestgovernors named on Arab-Sasanian coins and believed to be one of only two or three examples known.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Umayyad Caliphate. temp. 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. AH 65-86 / AD 685-705. 'Abdallah b. Bastam. Circa AH 82 / AD 701/2. AR Drachm (31.9mm, 4.13g, 11h). KRMAN-GRM (Garmshir) mint. Dated AH 82 / AD 701/2.(https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-5WQUOC/umayyad-caliphate-temp-abd-al-malik-ibn-marwan-ah-65-86-ad-685-705-abdallah-b-bastam-circa-ah-82-ad-7012-ar-drachm-319mm-413g-11h-krman-grm-garmshir-mint-dated-ah-82-ad-7012)

Lot 56 - A lovely Arab-Byzantine gold semissis with two Imperial busts, of interest to Byzantinecollectors as well as Islamic specialists.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Umayyad Caliphate. temp. 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. AH 65-86 / AD 685-705. AV Semissis (11.5mm, 2.02g, 6h). 'Africa' (Carthage) mint. Undated.(https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-5WQUP5/umayyad-caliphate-temp-abd-al-malik-ibn-marwan-ah-65-86-ad-685-705-av-semissis-115mm-202g-6h-africa-carthage-mint-undated)

Lot 61 - An Umayyad dinar of AH 77 - the first purely Islamic gold coin, one of the great rarities of theIslamic series.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Umayyad Caliphate. temp. 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. AH 65-86 / AD 685-705. AV Dinar (20mm, 4.15g, 6h). Without mint-name. Dated AH 77 / AD 696/7.(https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-5WQUPH/umayyad-caliphate-temp-abd-al-malik-ibn-marwan-ah-65-86-ad-685-705-av-dinar-20mm-415g-6h-without-mint-name-dated-ah-77-ad-6967)

Lot 68 - A very rare early Umayyad gold dinar from the mint of Ifriqiya (Carthage).

To read the complete lot description, see:
Umayyad Caliphate. temp. Yazid II ibn 'Abd al-Malik. AH 101-105 / AD 720-724. AV Dinar (19.1mm, 4.23g, 3h). Ifriqiya mint. Dated AH 102 / AD 720/1.(https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-5WQUPX/umayyad-caliphate-temp-yazid-ii-ibn-abd-al-malik-ah-101-105-ad-720-724-av-dinar-191mm-423g-3h-ifriqiya-mint-dated-ah-102-ad-7201)

Lot 145 - An extremely rare Spanish gold dinar struck at Valencia by Muhammad b. Sa'd, 'The WolfKing'.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Kings of Murcia (post-Almoravid). Muhammad ibn Sa'd. AH 542-567 / AD 1147-1171. AV Dinar (24.7mm, 3.83g, 1h). Balansiya (Valencia) mint. Dated AH 545 / AD 1150/1.(https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-5WQUUI/kings-of-murcia-post-almoravid-muhammad-ibn-sad-ah-542-567-ad-1147-1171-av-dinar-247mm-383g-1h-balansiya-valencia-mint-dated-ah-545-ad-11501)

Lot 164 - The first gold dinar issued by the Fatimid Dynasty, dated AH 296 / AD 909/10.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Fatimids. temp. Abu 'Abd Allah al-Shi'i. AH 296-297 / AD 909-911. AV Dinar (18.6mm, 4.15g, 8h). Al-Qayrawan mint. Dated AH 296 / AD 908/9.(https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-5WQUVK/fatimids-temp-abu-abd-allah-al-shii-ah-296-297-ad-909-911-av-dinar-186mm-415g-8h-al-qayrawan-mint-dated-ah-296-ad-9089)

Lot 198 - A remarkable Great Seljuk gold dinar with dragons surrounding the legends, a radicaldeparture from the usual purely epigraphic norm.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Great Seljuks. Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad I Tapar. AH 491-511 / AD 1105-1118. EL Dinar (20.7mm, 3.34g, 8h). Harat mint. Dated AH 498 / AD 1104/5.(https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-5WQUXH/great-seljuks-ghiyath-al-din-muhammad-i-tapar-ah-491-511-ad-1105-1118-el-dinar-207mm-334g-8h-harat-mint-dated-ah-498-ad-11045)

Lot 221 - A handsome gold Nazarana mohur of the Durrani ruler Zaman Shah.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Durrani Shahs. Zaman Shah. AH 1207-1215 / AD 1793-1800. AV Nazarana mohur (28.6mm, 11.05g, 10h). Dar al-Sultanat Kabul. Dated AH 1209 / AD 1794/5. Regnal year 3.(https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-5WQUYR/durrani-shahs-zaman-shah-ah-1207-1215-ad-1793-1800-av-nazarana-mohur-286mm-1105g-10h-dar-al-sultanat-kabul-dated-ah-1209-ad-17945-regnal-year-3)

Pre-bids on all coins in Islamic Auction I may be placed via the company's website, www.cngcoins.com.The live auction will commence at 10 am on Wednesday, May 25, and can be followed via CNG's AuctionMobility platform on the website.

Inquiries about Islamic Auction I may be sent to Steven Lloyd at stevelloyd@cngcoins.com. To receive acopy of the full-color catalog, contact Classical Numismatic Group LLC at CNG@cngcoins.com, or call (717)390-9194. Clients in the United Kingdom and Europe may contact CNG's London office at (+44) 20-7495-1888.