A fragment of an Arabic silver dirham found in Torksey, Lincolnshire. © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
A fragment of an Arabic silver dirham found in Torksey, Lincolnshire. © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

A fragment of an Arabic silver dirham found in Torksey, Lincolnshire. © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge A fragment of an Arabic silver dirham found in Torksey, Lincolnshire. © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Abbasid Silver Dirham (CM_773_2008)

A fragment of an Arabic silver dirham found in Torksey, Lincolnshire

This coin was minted at al-‘Abbasiyya. The dirham was a unit of weight used across North Africa, the Middle East, and Persia, with varying values which also referred to the type of coins used in the Middle East during the Viking Age. These coins were extremely prized possessions not only for their silver value but as a way of displaying ones wealth and vast trade connections. Millions of Arabic Dirhams would have been imported throughout the Viking world and are mostly found in hoards. Reduction in access to silver coins like this is thought to have been one of the causes of the Viking Age.

 

Object Type

Coin

Date

776 — 787

Style

Ascribed Culture

Original/Reproduction

Original

Material

Collection

Viking Objects

Current Location

The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Keywords

Arabic, bullion, coin, Currency, Danelaw Saga, dirham, Economy, Fitzwilliam_Museum, Lincolnshire, silver, Torksey

Further information

You can see the original at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

This object is related to Torksey, Lincolnshire.
Find out about Torksey, Lincolnshire.

Acknowledgements

© The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

References

The Fitzwilliam Museum

 

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Abbasid Silver Dirham Fragment (CM_1775_2008)
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