‘Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Musta‘in. AH 248-251 / AD 862-866. AV Dinar (19mm, 4.30 g, 6h). Tiflis mint. Dated AH 248 (AD 862/3). cf. Paghava, I., ‘New Mint-Name “Georgia” (Jurzān”): Researching the History of Georgia and the ‘Abbāsid North in the 8th-9th Centuries,’ Ukrainian Numismatic Annual 5 (2021), pp. 236-7 = Morton & Eden 85 (26 April 2017), lot 40 (same dies); Bernardi –; Album 233.1. Near VF, a few minor marks, possibly once in a ring-mount and with an unusually broad edge. Excessively rare, believed to be the second recorded example.

This is the the only date known for ‘Abbasid dinars bearing the mint-name Tiflis - the capital of Georgia. It was struck during the governorship of Muhammad b. Khalid al-Shaybani.

‘Abbasid dinars with the mint name ‘Jurzan’ - the Arab name for the province of Georgia, are also known. Paghava published an example dated AH 240, since when a second specimen of the same mint and date has also been recorded. There seems little doubt that the dinars from ‘Jurzan’ will also have been struck in Tiflis, and this raises the question of why the same mint place should have been given two different mint names. Paghava considered it plausible that the provincial name ‘Jurzan’ was used on the dinars dated AH 240 to emphasise that the entirety of the province was under ‘Abbasid control, and not merely its capital. Another possiblity might be that the different mint names indicate a different administrative function, with ‘Jurzan’ used on coins sent to Baghdad in payment of taxes.

While the ‘Jurzan’ dinars are to be associated with the capture of Tiflis by an ‘Abbasid army in AH 239/240, there is no obvious historical event which might explain the striking of dinars at ‘Tiflis’ in AH 248. However, al-Tabari mentions in passing that an ‘Abbasid commander, ‘Ali b. Yahya, was returning from Armenia in AH 249, which suggests that there may have been military activity in the region around this time.