It is definitely Khusro II- name is not very clear, but other aspects of portrait, crown, etc. combined narrow it down to him. Mintmark is almost certainly ST for Istakhr (persepolis), but might possibly be a damaged AT for Azerbaijan. (Looks more like S, I am 90+% leaning toward ST.) Year is hard to read due to flat strike, if forced to give an opinion I would say year 11.
I would buy more Sassanian coins, but I really need some kind of focus... eh you know what? Muqatil Hormazd IV
I only have two Sassanians... Persia - Sassanian Ardashir III (r. AD 628-629) AR Drachm 36 mm x 3.85 grams Obverse: Crowned beardless bust of Ardashir III right. Reverse: Zoroastrian Fire Altar flanked by two attendents. Dated yr. 2 AY mint. ref# Gobl II/1 Downturn year 2 Delta. RARE SASSANIAN KINGS. Shapur I. AD. 240-272. Æ Tetradrachm(?) (10.78 gm; 27 mm). Mint I (“Ctesiphon”), phase 1a, ca. AD 240-244. Obv: Bust of Shapur I right, wearing diadem and mural crown with korymbos Rev: Fire altar, flanked by two attendants wearing diadems (type 2) and mural crowns. Ref: SNS type IIa1/1a, style Abi, pl. 20, 5-A8; Göbl type II/1; Paruck 95; Saeedi -; Sunrise 731(this coin). Comments: Choice VF. From The Sunrise Collection I captured this one because as stated in Wikipedia: "...decisive defeat of the Romansat the infamous Battle of Edessa, where the Roman army was defeated and captured in its entirety, including the Roman Emperor, Valerian. He became the first Roman Emperor to be captured as a prisoner of war, causing instability in the Empire. As such, the battle is generally viewed as one of the worst disasters in Roman military history"
Woo-hoo, Sasanian pile-on! Let's start with an obol of the first Sasanian king, Ardashir I (c.224- 240), still wearing a Parthian-style tiara: A drachm of Peroz (457-483), mint BBA (court at Ctesiphon): Some Khusro II (590-627), starting with the mint of ShY (Shiraz): Mint of MY (Meshan province): And to break the monotony, a bronze: And finally, Ardashir III (628-630):
I find intrest in the two common Ardashir I coins. Both are rather similar in diameter but the billon tetradrachm below weighs 12.3g while the better silver drachm is 4.3g. Obviously it is much thinner but I suspect it contains about as much silver as the debased tet.
I started collecting Sassanians long, long ago because I fell for the large silver portraits. Like these two: Shapur II with head of god in altar flames, 309-379 And this fierce fellow is Xusro I, mint Ardashir Khurra, date 22 = 552.
But I grew to like the bronzes, too, and their manifold offspring. Like these: Xusro II 1/6 unit, 13-16 mm, .83 gr. Göbl 216, year 2-14 = 591-603 And this grotesque Sasanian imitation with janiform (double) head, minted under Islam in 685-715. Reverse has a fire altar with priests in a circle, surrounded by letters. Mint uncertain, and does anybody know the lettering on obverse or reverse? AE 15 mm, .78 gr. Cf. Gyselen Type 106 and 125 (for obverse).
Khosrau II, Sassanian Empire AE 12 nummi Obv: Facing bust of Khusru II, beardless, wearing chlamys and crown surmounted by a cross; star to left, crescent to right Rev: Cross potent on globe, I to left, B to right Mint: Alexandria Mintmark: ALEZ Date: 618-628 AD Ref: SB 855
