Mallorca government acquires unique Muslim coins

Is the change in your pocket worth a mint?

THE Mallorca government’s Heritage department has acquired two coins dating back to the island’s Muslim period which were auctioned off this week in Barcelona.
Coin expert Antoni Calero has described the coins as “unique and of great value”, and had warned that the items of great importance to Mallorcan heritage could have ended up in foreign hands.
The Heritage department headed by Kika Coll therefore decided to buy the coins for some €35,000.
One of the coins is a 12th century 3.3 gramme gold dinar minted by Ishaq Ibn Muhammad from the Banu Ganya dynasty. They ruled in Mallorca before the island was conquered by King Jaume I.
According to Calero there is only one similar example, which is in the Madrid National Archaeological Museum. In fact the coin was listed as among the museum’s best 100 monetary pieces.
This starting price for the coin was €30,000 and it was sold for €31,500.
The other coin is a 3.6 gramme silver dirhem from the same era, which is also in very good condition, and which was described as “extremely rare.”
Its starting rice was €3,000, and it was sold for €3,800.
Both coins will form part of the Museu de Mallorca collection.

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Written by

Cathy Elelman

Cathy Elelman is the local writer for the Costa de Almeria edition of the Euro Weekly News.

Based in Mojacar for the last 21 years, Cathy is very much part of the local community and is always well and truly up on all the latest news and events going on in this region of Spain.

Her top goals are to do the best job she can informing the local English-speaking community, visitors to the area and the wider world about about the news in Almeria, to learn something new every day, and to embrace very new challenge this fast-changing world brings her way.

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