Part silver coin/medallion with Arabic writing, no discernible denomination

[jkk]

This piece is 34.45mm in diameter and weighs 10.1g. I see the numbers 162 on one side, but I do not see how that could possibly be a date. By the manufacture it looks no older than the 1800s. I have no idea when it was drilled, but I am pretty sure it wasn't minted with that hole in it.

I can't make out any of the writing, except to say that it's definitely in the Arabic alphabet or a derivative of same.

Identification assistance appreciated.

[Kamnaskires]

See here for similar: http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=168922&SearchTerms=belly,dancer

[jkk]

See here for similar: http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=168922&SearchTerms=belly,dancer

You're right, that looks a lot like mine. In that case, that would mean the writing was in Arabic, which means an Arabic speaker can probably figure out what it says.

[malj1]

Often meaningless squiggles. see here for lots more.

[THCoins]

I agree with what was stated: this is an imitation of an original Tunisian Ottoman silver coin.
On this one one can still read some of the intended text. But it is very strangely executed with a lot of errors.
In the upper picture one can see "Zarb fi", "Minted in". In the lower picture the rightmost word in the first and third line is supposed to be "Sultan" but incorrectly copied to become meaningless.

[jkk]

Thanks very much for the education. I would never have figured that out on my own. Normally when there is a lot of writing in Arabic script, I look for words I recognize from an Islamic context (I don't speak or read Arabic, but I can make out the alphabet most of the time, and names like Allah and Ali and Muhammad are pretty easy to spot). In this case, the writing didn't make sense because it didn't have the dots. I have known those to be integral parts of their associated letters, not something one could just skip.

I may have here a piece of silvery junk, but it's junk nonetheless. I looked up the relevant Algerian and Tunisian designs (with the six-petaled flower motif) and it indeed looks like some of those were the basis for a design that was otherwise not meant to be put to this sort of scrutiny. Obliged!