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Token or medal with arabic writing

Started by Henk, April 04, 2022, 05:06:58 PM

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Henk

I would like help with attributing the following medal or token

Brass, gilt and 22 mm

At the bottom of the obverse there seems to be a year: 1994 and 7122. The last one read from right to left is 2217 which makes no sense to me.Arabic token.jpg

FosseWay

I think the date at the bottom is 1994-7-22, i.e. 22 July 1994. I can't find anything significant (a revolution or whatever) happening on that date.

I can't turn the two words above the date into names, but my guess is that this is a wedding token with the names of the happy couple.

Messing with Google Translate doesn't yield anything sensible, but the names/words may not be in the Arabic language.

saro

Quote from: FosseWay on April 04, 2022, 10:19:11 PMmy guess is that this is a wedding token with the names of the happy couple.

I agree with that :) ,
I think that the names (first names) of this happy couple are : "Maha / مها " and "Frank / فرانك "
The reverse looks like the formula " أسأل الله / I ask God"
"All I know is that I know nothing" (Socrates)

Figleaf

So here we have a western date and a groom with a western name at a time the Pahlevi's had been replaced by religious rule. Where would this wedding have taken place?

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

saro

Quote from: Figleaf on April 19, 2022, 06:17:37 PMWhere would this wedding have taken place?
Difficult to say...
"Frank" is not the most common first name in Arab countries but, according to wikipedia, it is found in some as well as in Iran.
"Maha" means "beautiful eyes", a name linked to the wild deer.
"All I know is that I know nothing" (Socrates)

FosseWay

Iraq or Syria under the Ba'ath regimes? Not particularly Islamic, used western dating, may well also have used western names. Remember that whoever was getting married in 1994 was probably born in the early 70s, so "Frank" reflects naming fashions then, not in the 1990s. After the 1991 Gulf War I can imagine that such links to the west became frowned on in Iraq.

Figleaf

Actually, I was looking at the unusual ampersand, that looks like it was done by a skilled engraver who was unfamiliar with the character, while your average Westerner would be able to draw one from memory. Same for the / in the date. They look too short and too close to the numbers. Also, the flan looks a bit thicker than usual, but that can be my imagination.

I am thinking of a migrant's marriage, for instance, a liberal Iranian family, fugitives from Iran, settled in the US after the fall of the shah. The daughter marries an American and the parents have contacts with other Iranians in the US, so they can order a perfectly nice traditional wedding medal from a skilled artisan who can do calligraphy in Arabic writing but is not as used to Western script. (illustrative speculation only)

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

FosseWay

Isn't the character in the middle an ornate و, i.e. an Arabic ampersand? (و = wa = and)

saro

Quote from: FosseWay on April 20, 2022, 06:56:58 AMIsn't the character in the middle an ornate و, i.e. an Arabic ampersand? (و = wa = and)
I thought so but was intrigued by the top loop, which is ^probably only a calligraphy effect and not a letter.
"and" makes sense.
"All I know is that I know nothing" (Socrates)

Henk

Thank you all for attributing my medal!

saro

Quote from: Figleaf on April 19, 2022, 06:17:37 PMWhere would this wedding have taken place?
Egypt with very little doubt.
I have seen similar tokens from Cairo area showing the same reverse formula and design, with of course different names of grooms.
"All I know is that I know nothing" (Socrates)