1 Dirhem
date: label: date made
content: 1021 - 1036
label: alternate calendar
content: 411 - 427 AH
notes: label: Description
content: This glass weight originates from the Fatimid period of Ancient Egypt, roughly the 10th to 12th centuries. Unlike machine-made coins today, each coin in ancient Egypt was minted by hand, making it a lot harder to ensure that coins met the weight protocol of a standardized currency. This glass weight could have helped a coinmaker check that they were making coins with accurate weight. It could have also served a seller check to make sure they were receiving the correct weight of metal for the amount of goods they sold.
label: Description
content: To make this glass weight, the maker used an iron stamp on molten glass. Most stamps bear the name of a ruler, or else an official who commissioned the coins be made. When a new leader or official assumed command, the glass coin weights would be stamped with the new names.
place: label: place made
content: Fatimid Caliphate
label: associated place
content: Egypt
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
label: Exhibition
content: Value of Money
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Hebert
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: NU.72.200.19
label: catalog number
content: 72.200.19
label: accession number
content: 304490
objectType: label: Object Name
content: weight, coin
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: glass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: blue (overall color)
label: Measurements
content: overall: .4 cm x 2.3 cm; 5/32 in x 29/32 in