Coin museum in Heritage District

A new museum dedicated to ancient coins will open soon in Dubai's Al Bastakiya Heritage District.

Dubai Municipality will open the Coins House, featuring nearly 500 ancient coins dating back to the time of the Islamic caliphates, in a building dating back to 1918.

It has been restored to its former glory by the Architectural Heritage Department (AHD) of Dubai Municipality in as part of a renovation plan for the heritage districts of Al Shindagha, Al Ras and Al Bastakiya.

Rashad Bukhash, Director, AHD, said the Coins House comprises several sections. One provides information on the history of the coins, while another room displays 16 ancient coins from the Sassanid Empire belonging to era of the four prominent caliphs (Al Khulafaau Ar-Rashidin) and the Amawi Caliphate.

A third room consists of 64 dinars and dirhams from Amawi Caliphate, while a fourth has 115 dinars and dirhams from the Abbasid Caliphate.

Yet another room holds 45 coins fragments from ancient Egypt, the region previously known as Belad Al Sham, and Turkey during the rein of the Tulunids - the first independent dynasty in Islamic Egypt (868–905 AD), the Fatimid Caliphate, the Mamluks, and Othamia Caliphate.

A sixth room consists of 91 coins from Iraq, the Mashreq, the Bahai, Saljouk and various other dynasties. Two other rooms consist of a total of 124 coins from North Africa, Spain, the Arabian Peninsula, the UAE and other countries.