Sasanian and Early Islamic Coins

I often read, admire and “like” many of the threads and images of Ancient and Medieval coins that folks share in this forum, but not being an Ancient nor Medieval collector, apart from owning a couple of Ancient Roman pieces (one acquired from this forum), I usually haven’t much to add to your threads. That said, I love history and appreciate the skills and artistry of the ancient world very much, and make efforts to visit such historic sites when traveling.

Over the recent holiday weekend, while visiting The Freer | Sackler Galleries at The Smithsonian Museum’s of Asian Art in Washington D.C., I was enjoying a small gallery on Sasanian and early Iranian culture, which featured amazing craftsmanship in ornate precious metal objects, like gold pitchers and silver pictorial plates, and even some animalistic earthenware vessels. At the end of the gallery was a vertical Plexiglas vitrine holding about nine coins, all silver in composition, and each floating at about eye level for viewing.

Viewing coins in galleries is usually a pain and of course it was dimly lit and difficult to see the coins, let alone make photos of them. The case was against the wall so it wasn’t possible to see the opposite sides of each piece and certainly not possible to photograph. Photography was permitted (I asked) but with reflections and shooting at odd angles, a nearly fruitless task. Still, I endured as I enjoyed the coins offered for review in the exhibition.

So, I thought I would share what little I could and even with the poor image quality, present these images and information with this forum, to return the favor of so many of the threads you’ve provided for others to take in and consider. It is hard to pair the coins with their atributions, given that they are floating in odd arrangement above the gallery labels in the base of the vitrine. I think the curator(s) could have done significantly better than this!

I was also curious if anyone has insights into the gallery label. It suggests that after the Sasanian culture was absorbed into Arab culture, older coin patterns continued to be used. Was the evolution of the design to more "abstract" geometric designs a result of Islam’s intolerance(?) of representational imagery, such as portraiture? The gallery card doesn’t explain in depth, but it was what I considered to be the case. What do you think/know about it? See the part, "Over time, the image of the ruler was abstracted into an almost geometric form."

Also, if you have never been and ever get to go to Washington D.C., there are MANY chances to see numismatic collections in institutions such as the The Smithsonian's National Numismatic Collection (US Coins), or the U.S. Mint or Bureau of Engraving and Printing. I think some of the users of this Ancient and World forum may not reside in the States or might not have visited the U.S. capital before, so if you do visit, there are some things related to coin collecting to see. Most all of these institutions offer free admission and are open most every day of the year, including many major holidays, the exception usually being Christmas day.

Thanks for checking out this thread. If you have any related coins or info to post, please add to the thread and let’s see what we can learn.

Regards!


Iran
Silver
Lent by the Smithsonian Institution,
National Museum of American History
Kenneth E. Behring Center





Ardashir


Umar Ubaydallah


Kushrow II


Sulayman ibn Musa


Shapir I


Shapir I


Narseh


Ardashir III



Please post any corrections if the attributions I paired with the pictures are inaccurate. Thanks.

 

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oh cool, that's krispy. good job with the pics, that's a rough situation for pic taking.

here's a related thread you may enjoy...

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancient-gadhaiya-paisa-family-portrait.254135/

 

Relating to Arab Sassanian coins, they really didn't abstract the head much. When the Arabs took over a couple of things were happening. One, Parthian nobles who sided with the Arabs were allowed to strike their own coinage for a while. This is the basis of the Tabaristan coins and others. Also, the Arabs themselves struck imitations of Sassanid coins for a period, with just some countermarks indicating it was Arab and not Sassanid. Only very late, with Sulayman, did the head get changed to an abstract form. In fact, the abstract head is how most collectors know its a Sulayman coin, as I believe he is the ONLY one to look like that. After that they invented purely Islamic coinage, with only lettering on both sides.

So the display was right, but overly simplistic. Not a bad little display of Sassanid coinage, but many of us here own better and much larger collections. Probably the rarest on that display is the Narseh, followed by Ardashir III, (just a boy when he ruled), then Ardashir, (the founder of the Sassanid dynasty).

 

I think this silver coin is among the early Islamic coinage, dated 97 AH.
Charles

 

Thanks for the thread Krispy. I have this coin of Shapur I to share:

Obverse Pahlavi script states: “The Mazda worshipper, the divine Shahpur, king of kings of Iran who is descendent from the Gods” Reverse states “Fire of Shahpur”. Note that Shapur I killed Gordian III & defeated Philip I (The Arab). He also enslaved Valerian I, used Valerian as a step stool to mount his horse and ultimately stuffed Valerian as a trophy.

 

Brutal!

 

Very cool ... nice thread, krispy

I have a few coins to toss into the ol' coin-mix ...

Sassanian Kingdom, Peroz I AR Drahm
459-484 AD
Peroz I & Fire Altar Attendants




Khusro II, Sassanian occupation of Egypt
618-628
Khusro II & Cross/IB (Byzantine)




Islamic, Anatolia & al-Jazira, etc
1170-1180 AD (1171/2)
Young male w. winged figures & 5 lines of text

 

Early Umayyad Era
Standing Calif with hand on sword

 

That's a great looking coin. Do you know what it is? I don't know anything about Islamic coins.

 

Krispy, thanks for showing us the display.

 

JA. I think it's a Dirham, I can read that. I also guess I can read Kerbala ( a well known sacred city in Iraq).The coin includes many verses of the Holy Koran. It is admitted that the first Islamic coin in History was gold and struck under Umayyad Calif Abdul Malek Ben Marwan. He reigned from year 61 A.H till 86 A.H. The coin weighs 2.9 g. Diameter : 27 mm. It is dated 97 A.H
Before Abdul Malek , Arab coinage was almost mixed with the Sasanians or whatever country or city they invaded. Watch this coin which is a Byzantine follis but counter stamped in the Arabic language with the word " Homs " a city in Syria that is crossed by the river Orontes. This city was formerly known as Emesa.

 

His coin looks Ummayid.

 

I'd like to collect some of the early Islamic coins that are covered with Arabic script - I think they're quite beautiful. But I would have to learn the script, which seems daunting.

 

Of course it's from the Umayyad reign which lasted from year 40 A.H till 132 A.H The coin is dated 97 A.H
Charles

 

JA. One can always learn , even a little bit.

 

that arab-byzantine is nice 7C.

 

Most everyone else here do not know that.

 

MN.
Before defining the precise date of the Umayyad reign, I searched for 10 minutes in one of my old books of History. Of course, I knew that this period lasted almost one century at the beginning of Islam, but I needed to make sure and be more precise when dealing with an open reputed site.
Charles

 

Ardashir I in the Parthian Style

Ardashir I in the Sassanian Style

The Great Shapur I

Varhran II Family Portrait

Varhran IV

 

Peroz I

Khusro I

Kavadh I

Hormizd IV Hun / Hephthalite Imitation (?)