What is the ruling on selling an ancient Roman coin that has images on it, and what is the ruling on melting it down if it is gold to get rid of the images and benefit from its value?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
A treasure known to be from ancient times before Islam is considered rikaz, and it has its own specific rulings. If the gold pieces have images on them, and the images are complete, then they are forbidden and must be processed by effacing, melting, or cutting them to remove the cause of prohibition. Their archaeological value is not considered. However, if the images are incomplete and not whole, then there is no harm in selling them and benefiting from their price, while observing the rulings of rikaz.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- 141754
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