Dirham - Möngke Otrar

The city of Otrar is located in Kazakhstan, at the confluence of the Arys River with the Syr Darya. The heyday of the Otrar oasis falls on the period from the 1st to the 13th century AD, at that time the city was one of the largest centers of trade in Central Asia. Such coins were minted from AH 646 (1248-1249) to AH 663 (1264-1265) from copper and covered with a thin layer of silver. The coins had a forced exchange rate. During this period, the city and its environs were part of the Juchi Ulus and was located on the southernmost outskirts of the possessions. In 1264, the city was destroyed and captured by a grandson of Chagatai, named Alghu Khan, and the mint did not function here for 7 years. Curiously, the final blow to the city came not from the the two destructions by the mongols (1220 and 1264 AD), but by the change of the course of the Syr Daria river, that left the land dry.

The date of minting is indicated on the circular inscription on the obverse and reverse, in Arabic words. But it is rarely preserved on coins of this type.

There is some debate over the correct reading of  منگو  . It might read and Möngke ( in persian arabic, Möngke ) or it might read as möngö ( which means “silver” in Mongolian ). So the coin could read as “Mönkge Khan's”, or as “Khan's Silver”, in which case should be anonymous, leaving only the date on the margin as useful to attribute the coin.

Coins dated until 657 AH belong to Möngke for sure, while 658 remains possibly to be Mönkge's too. Variants include the samples below, with  Boka Khani ( Ariq Boka Khan, S.Album A#C1979), and only Khani ( no name, S.Album A#1978C.2 ), these last two from 659 AH to 664 AH

For an interesting discussion on these coins, please see: https://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?photo=305646