People used coin weights such as this in Egypt under the Fatimid dynasty (969-1171). This example weighs 1.46 grammes and we think it was used to balance the weight of half a dirham in silver. It was produced in the reign of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim (996-1021), whose name was stamped on the obverse. (This is the side of the coin that carries the main design.) The caliph's name is followed by the phrase 'and his heir apparent'. This is a reference to 'Abd al-Rahim ibn Ilyas. He was heir apparent from 1013 until al-Hakim's death in 1021 but did not succeed him. The inscription on the reverse is illegible.