The Sharjah Archaeology Authority organized a virtual lecture on Islamic coins and a journey into modern research methodologies and their importance. It was managed by Eisa Yousif, Director of Archaeology Department at Sharjah Archaeology Authority. Researcher Dr Muhammad Abdullah Al-Sayed Yunus, a specialist in Islamic antiquities and coins, spoke about the importance and history of Islamic money, as well as modern methodologies and how modern technology can be used in the study of Islamic coins.
The lecture came as part of a series of specialized scientific lectures organized by the Sharjah Archaeology Authority in a bid to spread awareness of artefact restoration and maintenance. The number of attendees exceeded 120. The lecture saw incredible interaction from the participants who enriched the lecture with important and valuable information and questions.
During the lecture, Dr Muhammad Abdullah Al-Sayed Yunus emphasized the importance of the study into Islamic coins, in addition to the methodologies and techniques used to do so. He explained the importance of research and studying templates, in order to identify the idea of criticism.
Dr Yunus pointed out that, until the middle of the last century, the science of Islamic numismatics continued to suffer from the limited research knowledge. Researchers perceived the science as simply viewing the face and back of the coins and did not even consider the value of the metal from which they were minted. He pointed out that this ancient view of the Western world soon changed, as numismatists began to analyze the importance of coins with the important information they contained, including the metal.
He emphasized that, since the beginning of the current century, an interest in numismatics began to emerge, and its importance increased greatly after the studies carried out by specialized Arab scholars. Some of these scholars attempted to link numismatics with other sciences, and the importance of numismatics began to appear as a historical science.
Islamic numismatics is the science concerned with the study of Islamic money or currency. Islamic money is an important source of history, archaeology, and Islamic civilization, and many researchers and specialists emphasize that the future of studying Islamic numismatics is integral to understanding and achieving more research results.