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| Origin/Country: |
Morocco |
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| Item Description: |
2F AH1267 MOROCCO |
| Grade: |
NGC VF 35 BN |
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View Coin |
Owner Comments
Moulay 'Abd Al-Rahman; AH 1238 - 1276, 1822 - 1859 AD
Abd Al-Rahman assumed the Sultanate in 1822, after his uncle died. During his reign, the French began a series of incursions into northern Africa which laid the foundation for the conflicts in Morocco. At this time, they were not yet interested in conquering Morocco. It all began in 1830, when the French invaded Algiers in response to a diplomatic insult. The French began conquering Algeria, which had been ruled by the Ottoman empire for hundreds of years. A resistance leader named Abd al-Qadir began fighting against the French conquest, and as he lost more and more territory he was forced to retreat into eastern Morocco. Sultan Abd al-Rahman had been supporting the resistance fighters. The French found this to be unacceptable, so in 1844 the First Franco-Moroccan War was fought. Tangiers and Mogador were bombarded, and a battle was fought as Isly. Because of these losses, Morocco was forced to sign a peace treaty with France, which ended Moroccan support of the resistance fighters and formally recognized the border between Morocco and Algeria.
This coin is a particularly attractive example, well patinated and fairly high grade. NGC gave it a grade of VF-35, although I think numerical grading on pieces like this is often an exercise in futility. Each individual piece is unique, and so gauging its relative wear is often just guesswork. Compared to many of these, this piece has very little wear (you can see the wear on the high points, such as the date and the circle in the center of the obverse.)
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| Origin/Country: |
MOROCCO |
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4F AH1287(1870) FES "12887" DATE ERROR |
| Grade: |
NGC VF 30 BN |
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View Coin |
Owner Comments
Sidi Mohammed IV; AH 1276 - 1290, 1859 - 1873 AD
After the death of his father, Abd al-Rahman, Sidi Mohammed IV took the Sultanate. Very shortly after taking the throne, Morocco fought and lost the Spanish-Moroccan War. Berber tribes had been conducting raids on the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla, on the northern coast of Morocco. Spaid had been negotiating with Morocco to attempt to increase their territory around these cities, to help make them more defensible. Morocco was refusing – so Spain declared war and landed a large force at Ceuta. This force then captured the important coastal city of Tetouan. As a result of this defeat, Morocco was forced to sign a treaty granting all of Spain’s desires, as well as paying very large reparations (100 million francs). Spain would retain ownership of Tetouan until the payment was made. This was to be financed by giving half of all customs duties to the Spanish (effectively cutting the Moroccan income in half). The British government satisfied this payment by giving a loan to Morocco, but required a portion of customs proceeds to repay the loan. To help offset this, a new series of taxes were imposed on the tribes, leading to difficult times in the kingdom. Mohammed IV gradually receded into academic studies, until his accidental death in 1873.
As you can see from this coin, the crude hand engraved devices of these coins often led to errors. This is known as a “12887” because the 8 is prominently and obviously doubled. These types of errors are popular and garner a premium, although they are still quite available. This example is a high grade, very attractive coin with a dark copper patina. While it may look like the coin is damaged near the top, this is actually quite common on cast coins. When the coin was broken off the casting tree, the sprue is sometimes unpredictable. Sometimes it will leave a prong, sometimes it will take a small piece of the coin with it. So, what might appear to be damage is a natural variation in the minting (casting) process. Again – these were crudely made, so expectations of quality should be low!
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| Origin/Country: |
MOROCCO |
| Design Description: |
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| Item Description: |
4F AH1289//8 FES |
| Grade: |
NGC XF 40 BN |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
The early copper coinage of Morocco was made of cast bronze. The engraving is crude and the texture of the coin is rough. Yet, these coins have a unique charm. They are inexpensive, and many dates are easily obtainable. Very few are certified because of their low demand and low value. There are a wide range of varieties, because each one was hand engraved. Usually, many coins were cast at the same time – the metal was pored at the top of a trough, to which were attached numerous chambers for each of the coins. Once the metal cooled, the individual coins were broken off the tree. Sometimes, unbroken “trees” with 10 or 12 coins are offered for sale. On the individual cast coins, you can see a protrusion from the edge – this was it’s connection to the cast (on this coin, you can see it at the top). This is known as the “sprue.”
This coin is another date error, this time a 1289/8 (1872 AD). The date side of these cast coins is usually much cruder than the obverse design, and the same is true here. The date on these cast coins (when there is a date present) is in western numerals rather than Arabic script. This particular coin is quite high grade compared to the usual state of this type of coin, and it has a pleasant patinated bronze color. Overall, this is a very nice coin.
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| Origin/Country: |
MOROCCO |
| Design Description: |
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| Item Description: |
4F AH1289//8 FES |
| Grade: |
NGC AU 58 BN |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
Usually, I try to avoid buying duplicates. There are so many coins that I need for this set that buying multiples of the same coin is an ineffective use of money. However, since this coin is so inexpensive, I made an exception. The date error is cool, and this is an extremely high grade example. This is the highest graded example – although the vast majority of them are not certified. Cast coins don’t really have luster, but undisturbed surfaces do sometimes have a glossy appearance such as seen here. The color is quite pleasing – sometimes, bronze coins which have been cleaned will have a bare orange appearance. However, the dark brown color of this coin indicates that it has not been messed with. This is a great coin!
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| Origin/Country: |
Morocco |
| Design Description: |
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| Item Description: |
4F AH1288 MOROCCO MARRAKESH |
| Grade: |
NGC AU 50 BN |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
There were many, many mints in Morocco. Krause lists 30 different mints which were used at various periods throughout Morocco’s history. In the pre-French era of hammered and cast coinage, most of the coins were made at either Fes or Marrakesh. The mint’s name is often engraved on the coin – although there are many issues without mint name. On the reverse of the 4 falus coin shown here, the mint is named above the central line. This particular coin was minted in Marrakesh, a large city in the southern region of Morocco.
This particular coin is quite dark, but completely original. The coins from Marrakesh are often cruder than those of Fes. There is very little wear present on this coin, and fully earns its AU-50 grade. Very few of the cast bronze coins survive in this high grade!
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| Origin/Country: |
MOROCCO |
| Design Description: |
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BENDUQ AH1277(1861) FES |
| Grade: |
NGC XF 45 |
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View Coin |
Owner Comments
Very few gold coins were minted in Morocco. Most of the coinage used was cast bronze, although silver dirhams were also minted. The denomination of gold coin is called the benduqi, and one benduqi was 3.52 grams. There are some gold mines in Morocco, but the production of gold in Morocco is very small.
Mintage records were not kept for coinage of this era, but these coins are quite scarce. Looking through auction appearances, benduqi do not come up for sale often. However, because demand for them is also quite low, these can be obtained for relatively low prices. The present coin, from AH1277 (1861 AD), is one of the rarest. Krause does not list a mintage or values, but calls it “rare.” The date 1277 was unknown to the series until the first one was discovered in 2001 AD (this is the example shown in Krause). I have been able to track down 2 others, such that the total population I am aware of is 3 (accounting for unknown examples, there are probably 5 existing examples in the world). I saw this one come up for auction in a Spanish auction house, and I jumped on it (I paid $750 in 2018). It was raw when I bought it, and subsequently had it certified by NGC.
All of the benduqi I have seen have been very crudely struck, quite often off centered. These coins were hammered, an imprecise method of making coins. Given the small size of the coin, it is even more imprecise. My coin is no exception – weakly struck and off centered. The color is quite pleasing, with an original patina. I am very pleased to own this special little coin!
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| Origin/Country: |
MOROCCO |
| Design Description: |
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| Item Description: |
1/4F AH1306(1888) FES |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 63 RB |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
Moulay Al-Hassan; AH 1290 - 1311, 1873 - 1894 AD
We come now to the milled coinage of Morocco. The very first milled coinage of Morocco was a series of silver coins in AH1299 (1882 AD). However, there were some minor copper coins minted in Fes in 1306. Lower denominations are listed first in Krause, and I have been following the arrangement of Krause.
In 1306 (1888 AD), a fascinating series of copper coins was created. These are incredibly rare, and are considered to be patterns for a later issue in 1310. There are no mintage records for these coins, so I really don’t know how many were made – all I know is their relative scarcity in auction appearances. There are 5 denominations in the series (more on that in a future entry). Heritage Auction archives are an incredibly valuable research tool, and there are 9 listed auction appearances total (2 or 3 for each of the denominations, with no record of the highest denomination appearing). NGC’s certified census shows 3 or 4 certified for each denomination (the largest denomination is represented by a single details graded coin). Spink and Stacks show no sales of these coins. Stephen Album, the expert in Islamic coins, lists these are “RR – Seldom available. Collectors may have to wait years to locate one.”
So, my point is, they are rare! I estimate that there are less than 10 examples of each denomination, and they only come up for sale every few years. Lucky me, then, I’ve been able to purchase 5 of them (one of which is a duplicate).
This present coin is the smallest of the series. At 63RB, it is also among the highest graded. The bright red surfaces shine with a semi-reflective luster. The devices are all well struck. This coin might be tiny, but it is impressive!
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| Origin/Country: |
MOROCCO |
| Design Description: |
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| Item Description: |
1/2F AH1306(1888) FES |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 62 RB |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
This is the next coin in the extremely rare series of pattern issues minted in Fes in AH1306 (1888 AD). Let’s talk about some denominations! Depending on which book you read, you’ll see these listed differently. In Sanchez-Giron, they are listed as “muzunas,” in Lecompte they are listed as “mazounas,” and Krause offers another alternate spelling of “mouzuna” or “mazuna.” I will use the spelling “muzuna” throughout this set. The muzuna had been struck in the AH1100’s (late 1700’s AD), and was at that time a small silver coin valued at one-quarter dirham (the standard silver coin of the time). The muzuna was not in use in 1306 – it would be restored as a minor copper coin in the coinage reform of 1320 (more on that later).
Because there is no value statement on these coins, nobody was really sure exactly what denomination they were. Were they early prototypes of the coinage reform of 1320, and thus we call them muzunas? Or, did they continue the denomination current at the time, the falus? In the early books, they were referred to as muzunas, and thus given the denominations of ½, 1, 2-1/2, 5, and 10 muzunas. New research has revealed that these are not muzunas, and we should actually consider them faluses (recent editions of Krause reflect this new perspective). I’ll explain why these are indeed falus in the next entry!
In no case has this coin ever been referred to as a mitqal – that is an error on NGC’s part. This particular size was called a muzuna. A mitqal was a large silver coin equivalent to 10 Dirhams. (Throughout NGC’s census, you’ll notice several mislabeled coins… mitqals being called muzunas and so forth). However, with the new research, this is more accurately considered a half falus.
This particular coin is a very attractive, flashy coin with the same semi-prooflike fields that the ¼ falus shows. There is plenty of red remaining on this well struck coin. I was pleased to win this one from a Stephen Album auction – in a strange quirk, Album and Heritage each had a nearly full set of the 1306 faluses for sale at the same time! I had to muster some deep cash reserves, but I was able to win 3 of them in January 2018. Lucky me!
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| Origin/Country: |
MOROCCO |
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FALUS AH1306(1888) FES |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 63 BN |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
This is my upgraded 1306 Fes Falus, upgrading the 61BN in the previous entry. Oddly enough, I paid $200 less for this one….. coin auctions can be weird sometimes. This is an absolutely beautiful example – the reverse is a delightful mellow reddish, the obverse an attractive brown. The strike is quite strong. You can see all the detail of the textured devices (they remind me of snakeskin).
Fun story about purchasing this coin and my 1306 quarter-falus. These both came up on Heritage in April 2019 as part of the extensive Engelen collection. My mom and I had been planning a trip to Peru and Ecuador for about a year. One of the highlights of our trip was that we would be spending a week in the Amazonian Jungle of Peru, with no internet and no electricity. That just happened to be the week this auction was occurring! So, before we left, I placed a couple of nuclear bids on these coins. I absolutely had to win! There was no chance I could let them slip through my grasp (especially the quarter falus, since I already had the falus and was just upgrading it). I kept watching the auction until it was time to leave and there wasn’t much action (there often isn’t much pre-sale action on Heritage auctions – people wait until they can view the coins in lot viewing before placing strong bids). Into the jungle we went! No electricity. I was nervous. The day of the auction came and it was an amazing day – we went canoeing and saw a family of 5 Giant River Otters, an extremely endangered species. It was a really special day! But with no internet, I had absolutely no idea if I had won, and I was quite nervous. It wasn’t until several days later that we flew to Cusco (in preparation for the amazing Macchu Picchu), and I was able to finally check the auctions. I had won! Hooray. Anyways, both of these coins are now deeply embedded in my collection.
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| Origin/Country: |
MOROCCO |
| Design Description: |
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| Item Description: |
2FAL AH1306(1888) FES |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 61 RB |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
A note on values…. Don’t trust Krause. The Standard Catalogue of World Coins is a really good reference; it is an essential tool for studying most foreign coin sets. However, the values listed are sometimes…. a bit off. For example, Krause lists the value of the 1306 pattern faluses in Uncirculated condition at between $2600 for the 2 falus and $3000 for the quarter falus. However, in my experience these can be obtained for significantly less. The most I paid was $1400 for the half falus. The rest of them I won at auction for between $450 and $700 – a fraction of what Krause suggests they are worth. The problem is, these coins are so rare and sell so infrequently that putting a value on them is nearly impossible. If an auction is well publicized or from a major auction house, there is a chance that it will earn a higher hammer. The highest price I paid, for the 2 falus, also happened to come from a Stephen Album auction. He’s a specialist in Islamic coins, and thus his customer base is going to be more competitive for rare coins like this. The rest of the coins I bought from Heritage, which, while it has a very large customer base, might not be as dedicated to the specialized nature of these coins.
When preparing to buy a rare coin, the price guides are a good start. However, you must then search actual sales (recent sales are best). Heritage Auctions, and several other auction houses, have thorough archives with searchable lists of all previous sales. This is an incredibly valuable tool – while a published book may only update its values once every few years, the auction archives will show you every completed sale (and often, will show unsold lots as well). This advice applies to any coin purchase you may consider – whether it be an incredibly rare Moroccan pattern coin, or an incredibly common date US silver dollar.
As for the coin itself! This is a beautiful coin. The surfaces literally shine, with attractive red poking out around mellow brown. The strike is weak in places, but the larger format allows more detail to fill the nautical anchors and ropes them around the edges. A beautiful, rare coin!
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| Origin/Country: |
MOROCCO |
| Design Description: |
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| Item Description: |
1/2F AH1310(1893) FES |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 63 BN |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
The falus coinage of 1310 is more common than that of 1306, but it is still by no means common. The 1306 coins are considered "patterns," and 1310 is considered a circulation strike. You will find these coins in circulated condition (some of them quite worn), but they are very scarce. Finding them in a high grade UNC is nearly impossible!
I got very lucky to buy this particular piece. The strike is fairly typical for these issues and shows some weakness. However, the eye appeal is undeniable! Very attractively toned, with flashy semi-prooflike luster.
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| Origin/Country: |
MOROCCO |
| Design Description: |
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| Item Description: |
1/2D AH1299(1882) PARIS |
| Grade: |
PCGS MS 66 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
The reign of Hassan was relatively peaceful, although he suffered the consequences of the significant reparations imposed by his predecessor. Much of the coin in the country had been exported to pay these debts, and so a new coinage was required. This coinage was minted in Paris beginning in AH1299. Hassan attempted to reform the country of Morocco, to modernize it and to protect it from the growing colonial pressures. This culminated in the Treaty of Madrid in 1880, signed by France, Germany, Britain, Morocco, and the US. This treaty granted the right of protection to the international powers who had conquered portions of Morocco (such as the Spanish during the Spanish Moroccan War). This agreement was one of the early steps which helped to make Morocco a French protectorate, and set the stage for events to come.
As part of this coinage of AH1299 (1882AD), this half dirham was struck. My coin is a lustrous, very high grade example. Powder blue toning graces the obverse, while the reverse is a steely grey. These are very small coins, but clearly well made. 13.5 million of these were struck, so they are quite widely available.
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| Origin/Country: |
MOROCCO |
| Design Description: |
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1/2D AH1311(1894) PARIS |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 65 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
The coins of Morocco are not terribly popular. They aren’t widely collected. Therefore, they also aren’t widely submitted for Third Party Grading and certification. The graders at NGC and PCGS don’t see them very often. That means that the certification process for these coins is fraught with more hazards than submitting your typical Morgan dollar. NGC grades them well (if you know how to accurately grade a coin, then you can pretty easily grade any coin). They might not be as familiar with the intricate subtleties as a specialist, but they grade them well enough. Instead, the hazards I mention come with odd and sometimes incorrect labels (as I mentioned with my 1306 Fes “mitqal” which they meant muzuna but is now a half falus). Another hazard is figuring out which side of the coin is the obverse….
For example, on these small silver half dirham and dirham coins of Moulay al-Hasan, one side has the date surrounded by text, one side has plain text (in Arabic). Depending on which reference you check, some of them will call one side the obverse, and others will call the other side the obverse. Lecompte and Sanchez-Giron both call the date side the obverse; Krause calls the date side the reverse. Since Krause is the reference that most people looking at this set will have the most access to, I’m going to follow Krause. Now, I’d be happy if the TPGs picked one and called it the obverse and were consistent, but alas, that is not the case. Most of my set is graded by NGC, and they are inconsistent – sometimes the date side is holdered out (that is, facing out – usually the obverse is the front of the slab), but sometimes the date side is the reverse. I will endeavor to be more consistent…
Anyways, the present coin is an attractive ½ Dirham from AH1311 (1893 AD), minted in Paris. After the large issue of 1299, subsequent years fell into a fairly stable mintage of between 1 – 2 million per year, 1309 to 1314. This is still a substantial mintage, but these were not saved in high grades. They were intended to be used. And thus, most of the coins you will find are circulated. Finding these in grades like the present MS-65 is difficult. This coin fully earns the grade, with lusterous, lightly toned surfaces. A beautiful coin!
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
MOROCCO |
| Design Description: |
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| Item Description: |
2.5D AH1299(1882) PARIS |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 66 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
I find the die polish on this coin quite interesting, even though many people don't like it. It also helps give this coin a semi-prooflike appearance - something I'm extremely fond of. The luster on this coin is incredible! This coin is one of many single-finest-known examples in my collection.
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| Origin/Country: |
MOROCCO |
| Design Description: |
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| Item Description: |
2.5D AH1309(1892) PARIS |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 65 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
Many Moroccan coins feature the “Seal of Solomon,” as seen on this coin. While it may seem strange to modern audiences to see a symbol which we today associate with Jewish culture, this symbol has a far more complicated history than most know. The Seal of Solomon can be depicted as a pentagram (5 pointed star) or as a hexagram (6 pointed star as seen here). The hexagram form is also today known as the Star of David. However, the symbol was actually developed by Arabic writers in medieval times, and became important in Renaissance era magic and occultism. Supposedly, the Seal of Solomon gave that wise king the power to command demons and genies. The Seal of Solomon entered the Jewish tradition of Kabbalah in the 1600’s and became important in the mysticism of that sect. It wasn’t until the late 1800’s that the Star of David was adopted as a symbol for the Jewish people.
Morocco is also known as the “Empire Cherifien,” and any person considered for Sultan had to prove that they were a direct descendent of the prophet Mohammed. The Sultan only ruled as long as his “baraka,” or “blessing” lasted. A ruler with a stronger baraka would have a stronger following. Because Morocco was a very religious country, the Seal of Solomon became part of the unique power of the Sultan.
Anyways, on to the coin itself! This is a simply stunning 2.5 Dirhams. The grade is lofty, but the eye appeal is what sells this one. Delightful toning graces both sides – orange and light blue on the obverse, more blue and bold reddish colors on the reverse. Luster is strong on both sides. You’ll notice the Seal of Solomon is prominently displayed on the obverse (not the Star of David, as many people incorrectly state). A very nice coin, and one I am proud to own!
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