AE Follis 5.90g. 26mm. before AH555 Amid mint
Rectangular counterstamp 'Shams' on Byzantine anonymous follis host.
Byzantine host.
C/M: Lowick MH 9; Album 1952; Host: SB Anyonymous Class K 1901
Brown patina with some rust typical of the hoard. Counterstamp Good Fine, host About Fine.
Mild porosity and rough adhesions. Some coppery abbrasions. Counterstamp a bit uneven.
Though there is no confirming documentation accompanying the coin, its patina suggests it may be from the Mardin Hoard.
'Shams' is an honorific title that doesn't refer to any single person, but Lowick suggests that this countermark was applied by Shams al-Muluk Jamal al-Din Mahmud, during the short Inalid rule of Amid (modern-day Diyarbakir, Turkey). Album lists the 'Shams' mark as 'Rare.' This example is struck on a Byzantine anonymous follis attributed to the reign of Alexius, 1081-1118 A.D.
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