Unveiling origins, composition, and appearance of ancient Islamic gold coins through elemental and smartphone-based colorimetric studies

Abstract

In this article, the Islamic gold coins collections of the University of Valencia is studied for the first time for its elemental composition and colorimetric properties. To that end, non-destructive elemental analysis using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence is applied to obtain the coins’ elemental profile. Additionally, the colour of the coins is assessed using smartphone-based colorimetry as an innovative non-invasive method. Results indicate that the Islamic coins could be attributed to Almoravids, and the gold origin could be the famous Sudanese gold, an ore which was valued all over the world. Also, the text found in the coins was translated and allowed to objectively identify the mint and year. Based on these results, it can be seen that the earliest coins struck in the Iberian Peninsula are characterised by slightly lower gold concentrations than the ones struck in the northern part of Africa, pointing towards a potential recycling of coins which already circulated in the area. In conclusion, this work provides new analytical insights into a peculiar and unique type of samples, allowing to draw some conclusions in terms of their origins and materials, and for the first time allows to characterise the chromatic coordinates of this type of samples.