Arab Sasanian, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi, silver dirham, TART (Tawwaj) mint, AH 77, unpublished type and among the rarest of al-Hajjaj's coinage

Arab Sasanian: al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi, Umayyad governor (694-713), silver dirham (3.98g), TART (Tawwaj) mint, AH 77 (696-697 CE). Arab-Sasanian series. Name of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in Arabic to right of bust. Outer obverse marginal legend "bismillah la ilaha illa allah wahdahu muhammadun rasulullah" (in the name of Allah, there is no god except Allah, alone, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah). Marginal legends of al-Hajjaj's dirhams were completely radial in earlier issues and horizontal (right-to-left) in later issues, so this can be classified as a transitional, hybrid type where the marginal legend is partly radial and partly circular. Unpublished type and among the rarest of al-Hajjaj's coinage. Only one other specimen appears to be recorded, having appeared in Morton & Eden's famous sale "Important Coins of the Islamic World" in 4 April 2011 (lot 8), and sold for £7,200 GBP (then approx. $11,610 USD) including buyer's premium.