17 · COIN · KILWA

Kilwa coin

The coin of al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman

This copper coin, probably minted in Kilwa, bears an Arabic inscription with the name of an African coastal authority.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Obverse, reverse and edge of British Museum coin 1938,0210.2 beside a 22-millimetre scale — **EDITORIAL VISUALISATION DECLARED · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS**
Editorial visualisation · Contextual correspondence
Declared editorial visualisation, based on the cartography and sources of the fact sheet; it is not an exact historical frontier.

History and context

The coin names al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman and was probably minted in Kilwa between 1482 and 1493.

Its copper and small size indicate local and regional circulation within an Islamic city on the Indian Ocean.

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogued object: 22 mm and 1.59 g. Caution: the mint attribution is probable, not certain; provenance before 1938 remains to be investigated.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date: 1482–1493
Location: Probably Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania; now London
Material: Copper alloy with an Arabic inscription
Context: Coinage, Islam and Swahili trade
Curatorial reading: The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Dossier axis: treasures
Research record: BANTU · bantu-treasure-kilwa-coin
Documentary coverage: 2 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop.

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

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1482–1493

Kilwa coin

Bantu-speaking worlds

Current record

Copper and its alloys8 dated objects

7 / 8In the centre: Kilwa coin

Also connected, without a comparable date (3)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

Copper and stoneAncient Egypt · ca. 3100–2700 BCE
Early metallurgyAncient China · c. 1900–1500 BCE
Translating faithBantu-speaking worlds · 16th–18th centuries

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Coins

The archer in gold · Type introduced from the late 6th century; specimen from the 4th century BCE. · Achaemenid Persia
Yan knife-money in the Gojoseon sphere · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Ancient China
Treasure of Cheste · Jewellery from the 4th–3rd centuries BCE; concealment at the end of the 3rd century BCE. · Iberians
A coin with the memory of a blade · 323–222 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Denarius of Carisius · ≈25–23 BCE · Iberians
Kilwa coin · 1482–1493 · Bantu-speaking worlds — You are viewing

Inscriptions

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Exchange and trade

Weights · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Before the Hittites · c. 19th century BCE · Hittites
Kerma vessel · c. 1802–1640 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Ivory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Motagua jade · c. 900–600 BCE · Maya worlds
The so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · Phoenicians
The so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · Iberians
The Gallery of the Conch Shells · Main use c. 800–500 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Mazarrón 1 · Second half of the 7th century BCE · Phoenicians
Mazarrón 2 · Second half of the 7th century BCE · Phoenicians
Ivory with names · End of the 7th century–first half of the 6th century BCE · Phoenicians
The inscription of Pistiros · 4th century BCE · Thracians
Yan knife-money in the Gojoseon sphere · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Ancient China
Lead tablet · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
A coin with the memory of a blade · 323–222 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Ceramics that continued · Last third of the 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Iberians
Roman glass oinochoe · Late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE · Etruscans and Rome
Moulds for gold · 9th–11th centuries CE · Mande Worlds
Missing grave goods · 13th–15th centuries according to the heritage overview · Bantu-speaking worlds
Catalan Atlas · after 1375 and before November 1380 · Mande Worlds
Kilwa coin · 1482–1493 · Bantu-speaking worlds — You are viewing

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

A Kerma vessel deposited at Abydos · Second Intermediate Period · Ancient Egypt
Akrotiri · c. 1700–1500 BCE · Greek worlds
Clicks and contact · precolonial contacts with varying chronologies and subsequent continuity · Bantu-speaking worlds
Dia’s strata · 9th century BCE–2nd millennium CE · Mande Worlds
Indian Ocean Kiswahili · from the first millennium CE; major development in medieval and modern times · Bantu-speaking worlds
Jenne-jeno contexts · ca. 250 BCE–1400 CE · Mande Worlds
Kumbi Saleh · medieval occupation; prominent phases between the 11th and 13th centuries · Mande Worlds
Lothal · ca. 2400–1600 BCE · Indus civilisation
Meluhha · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Nile towards Nubia · ca. 3300–2800 BCE · Ancient Egypt
The Banquet of Seuthes II · Towards 400 BCE. Anabasis episode · Thracians
Travelling objects · Mainly Roman period · Garamantes

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

Authority is also expressed through rhyme

The British Museum characterises the legends on this coin as rhymed Arabic inscriptions. Its design therefore incorporated a sonic relationship between words, in addition to identifying the ruler. The catalogue also records a die axis at twelve o’clock: the orientations of both faces correspond when the piece is turned vertically. These are two distinct scales of observation, literary and technical. The use of Arabic forms part of the Islamic language of authority of the issue; by itself it does not demonstrate what languages were spoken by all those who received it in a transaction.

Museum · British Museum · Coin 1938,0210.2Access recorded: September 5, 2026.

Location and territory

REGIONAL AREA

Probably Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania; now LondonCurrent maximum linguistic envelope and historical corridors; it was not a single political territory nor was it occupied simultaneously. The footprint indicates the indicative centre of the sphere, not a border or an exact point.

Where it is held

The British Museum

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

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Kilwa coin

History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Objects connected through time

Kilwa coin

The Gold of Varna

Nippur Cubit

Akkadian sovereign head

Bassetki Statue

The lute-shaped dagger

Simancas-type belt buckle

Kilwa coin

Kongo crucifix

A closer look

Authority is also expressed through rhyme

Location and territory

Where it is held

The British Museum

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?