I recently purchased a coin during the Sassanian period of Khosrau I -- the just one. It was an ebay auction (sorry, I was new). I was quite excited but after showing it to an Iranian history professor, she had doubts about its authenticity and suspected it's a forgery. Any ideas if this would be real or a forgery? the coin on the left is a subway token put there for contrast.
Definitely fake. There is not any wear on the design at all, and it's obvious that there should be by the way the design was made.
I don't see a reason to condemn the coin from the photo but these are far from my strong suit. Most of those condemning it failed to say why but the one saying there is no wear makes no sense to me. Its biggest 'problem' is that it is nicer than many we see but Sasanian coins are common in high grade. The coin does show appropriate flatness on the reverse caused by the thin flan and the style looks within normal expectation. It might be good to post this one on Forvm Ancient Coins specialty area for these and see if you can get a reply from one of the Sasanian specialists. A first step would be to get a better photo. Meanwhile you can compare it to similar coins online here: http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/sasania/sas_khuI_1.html and assign it to a mint (I see AY) using the tables here: http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/sasania/sas_mint/sas_mint_table.html If you wander that site there is also a table to help you read the dates but I generally find them difficult compared to the mint city letters. http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/sasania/sas_mint/dp/sas_date_table.html The owner of the above site does provide an email link at the bottom of this page but I do not know if he would reply to a direct inquiry. You could try. http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/coins.html I would ask both your professor and all your other advisers to give a hint beyond 'looks bad'. For example did someone find it as a die match in one of the online fake resources? There were so many mints and styles of these coins that it is really not easy to learn them all. I only have one coin of this ruler and it is an MB mint. You might also investigate who on eBay sold it to you. There are good and bad sellers there; it makes a difference. eBay is like a coin show where sellers rent space from the organizers and are hardly policed at all as to their abilities.
I'm with Doug on this one. Although I'm no expert, and own only two of these, it does not look fake/modern to me. As for wear, the shoulders, back of the crown look as if it circulated; and in any case, these are often found with very little wear. The reverse appears to have some damage across the fire altar attendants and the left rim - but I like it. A better-than-average example in terms of strike and artistry. Is the professor in question a coin collector? Non-collectors often find it hard to believe that ancient coins can have such an attractive appearance and therefore assume the pretty ones are fake. Maybe some better photos, a photo of the edge, and the weight would help evaluation. Here's one of mine, via eBay, with my effort at attribution (these can be tough, at least they are for me): Sassanid Empire Khusro II, AR Drachm Year 33 (622/623) Mint: WYHC (Fars) Veh-az-Amid-Kavad Facing bust, head right, in winged crown with star & crescent / Fire altar with two attendants Göbl SN, Xusro II, IIIb/3 (3.26 grams / 30 mm)
Barry, are you referring to the OPs or Panzerman's? OP, I do not see anything on the surface making me believe your is a fake. I am with Doug, I would want details why someone is condemning it. I have a few dozen of this ruler. Khusro I is one of the most common Sasanid coins, with wild variations between mints. If a person looked at just a few examples and condemned yours because it did not match that is not very good for this ruler. They need to look at hundreds or thousands of them to get a grasp of what is good or not, or listen to a true expert like @Barry Murphy .
For what it's worth, I think most if not all of the facing head Khusro dinars, as posted by panzerman, are suspicious. Barry
