Featured Savior of the Sasanian Empire... that is, I did the best I could;)

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Ryro, Apr 19, 2020.

  1. Ryro

    Ryro Trying to remove supporter status

    Nope this thread is not about Khusro ll (or however you would like to spell his name). Though I do have a coin of the scourge of Byzantium! Nor about Ardashir l, wish I had one of those guys coins.
    This is about a coin that I won from Frank Robinson’s last “bargain list” auction that showed up broken, he did his best to package in a capsule with styrofoam, and still got banged around in transit by usps (who I am a huge fan of and really appreciate despite shattering what I feel is a really lovely coin).
    As always, Frank was a stand up guy and said not to pay for that coin. But I let him know the check was already in the mail.
    It showed up With some really cool pals looking like this:
    C4EA40E2-DB36-4B62-A51C-DFE87D72C446.jpeg 60196F7E-FD78-47CD-87FA-B96FEEDDBE2E.jpeg

    With some spare time I set it to put together an ancient jig saw. So, today I broke her open:
    FEBE4D91-4100-4732-AE0D-4376C2EF7444.jpeg
    and for better or for worse did my best with some super glue and a lot of patience:

    417AB035-3F53-4A25-B4AF-2CEE8699F46E.jpeg 46698A42-9BD9-4E71-BED6-EAD4884C27FE.jpeg

    Hormizd IV
    579-90 AD, Ar Dirham, 31 mm, Bust r/fire altar & attendants, Yazd mint, Year 12; VF-EF, typically crudeness but not bad for this, portrait reasonably clear; some uneven toning; small natural holein flan. Shattered! 11.95. Ex: Frank Robinson

    Just a few pieces left over... but at what point am I gluing sand?
    9984B1F7-2531-4621-9680-91620DE3E3F1.jpeg
    here are my others:
    F1B54716-CFA9-4C0C-8387-1E0CBC6262E1.jpeg Shapur II
    Sasanian Kingdom AD 309-379. Drachm AR
    23mm., 4,04g.
    Bust of Shapur II right, wearing mural crown with korymbos and inner ribbon / Fire altar with ribbon and bust right in flames, flanked by two attendants, each wearing mural crown with korymbos, legend on altar shaft.
    very fine. Former Savoca
    A67BA235-CE43-44D5-88A3-A600D824F429.png Khusro I: 531-579 (Son of KavadI)
    AR Drachm, Year 32 (563/564), Veh-Kavad pwzn | hwslwb
    Facing bust, head right, wearing merlon crown with tassel to left and surmounted by crescent with |||: inside single dotted-border, crescents at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock
    dwcsyh | WYH Fire altar with twoattendants standing facing, wearing tall headgear, both hands on sword hilt, all inside single dotted-border
    A51E3AEA-6581-4FD6-8B75-FDBBB4192474.png
    Khusro II: 591-628 (Son of Khusro I)
    AR Drachm, Year 14 (603/604), Ram-Hormizd GDH apzwt | hwslwb
    Facing bust, head right, wearing winged crown with star and crescent, inside double dotted-border, crescents with stars at 3, 6 and 9 o'clockAPD in lower-right margin chldh | RAM Fire altar with two attendants standing facing, both hands on sword hilt, crescents on heads, all inside triple dotted-border, crescents with stars at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock
    31mm x 33mm, 4.12g
    Göbl SN, Xusro II, IIb/3 (Plate XIII/211-215); Valentine 50
     
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  3. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    You did better than I could have.

    Here is FFIVN's Hormizd IV. It made his Top 10 in 2018.
    Hormazd IV Drachm 590AD.jpg
     
  4. non_cents

    non_cents Well-Known Member

    Toughest jigsaw puzzle I've seen, well done. Mine is not entirely circular but still like having it in the collection
    sassanian king obv_rev.png
     
  5. Ryro

    Ryro Trying to remove supporter status

    Excellent portrait and reverse... that’s not tin foil on his head is it?;)
     
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  6. non_cents

    non_cents Well-Known Member

    You see his eye bulging? Whatever he's got on, its DEFINITELY too tight.
     
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  7. Parthicus

    Parthicus Well-Known Member

    Very nice, Sasanians are almost as cool as Parthians. (Almost.) Here's Hormazd IV, also from Yazd mint, from my collection:
    Hormazd IV Yazd.jpg
    And since you mentioned Ardashir I, here's an obol from early in his reign, when his coins still used a very Parthian-style portrait:
    Ardashir I obol.jpg
    And one from later in his reign, when he adopted a more "Sasanian"-style portrait:
    Ardashir I obol new.jpg
     
  8. Spaniard

    Spaniard Well-Known Member

    @Ryro....What a shame but you did a good job. Its got a nice portrait and clear date and Mint....Here's a couple of mine..
    sass black.jpg
    Khusro I 531-579AD-AR Drachm-Max 31mm diameter-3.84 grams
    Obverse..Facing bust, head right, wearing merlon crown with tassel to left and surmounted by crescent with 3 vertical lines. Crescents at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock. Right of portrait kings name.
    Reverse..Fire altar with two attendants standing facing either side of fire altar, wearing tall headgear, both hands on sword hilt. Star and crescent flanking flames of altar. Right-Mint HWC (Gunde-Shapur, Khuzistan) /Left- Regnal year 26 = 557AD.
    hor-removebg-preview.png
    Sasanian Kingdom. Hormizd IV. A.D. 579-590. AR drachm (31 mm, 3.56 g, 8 h).
    WYHC (uncertain site)Fars or Central Iraq.. RY 12. Last year of reign 590AD
    Obverse..Crowned bust of Hormizd IV right, crescent on forehead, stars flanking crown .
    Reverse..Fire altar with attendants and ribbon, star and crescent flanking flames. Göbl Type I/1.
     
  9. Pellinore

    Pellinore Well-Known Member

    Ah, Hormizd IV with his hollow eyes...

    5371 Hormizd IV ct.jpg

    And this Sasanian was issued by a short-lived king, Valkash, one of the brothers of Kavad I. I could afford it because it was broken. Year 1 = 484 AD:

    5359 Valkash ct.jpg

    And here is a Sasanian imitation of Peroz, the reckless King of Kings - by the Huns, dating from 474-561 AD. It was counterstamped with such vehemence, that slivers of silver whizzed away. Or rather billon: bits of billon biggled away.

    5738 s.jpg
     
  10. Xodus

    Xodus Well-Known Member

    Very cool! I got this the other day but I'm not sure what it is lol. I think it is Sassanian though.
    IMG_20200419_134532980-ccfopt.jpg IMG_20200419_134505241-ccfopt.jpg
     
  11. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

  12. Xodus

    Xodus Well-Known Member

    29mm :)
     
  13. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    Did anyone participate in the VCoins/Pars sale today? I won a couple Sasanian drachms from kings I lacked but most had start prices I considered high and many did not sell. The way VCoins works, you can't see the unsolds since the links now take you to the next Pegasi sale. The Archive shows the coins as sold I guess at start price. I consider this poor business practice. They had some interesting Eastern Greek coins you don't see every day.
     
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  14. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    I got the email and checked it out but they were out of my price range so I didn’t bid on anything.
     
  15. Parthicus

    Parthicus Well-Known Member

    I bid on a few lots. Got outbid on a scarce Arab-Sasanian piece, but I won one Parthian and one Sasanian drachm, plus a group lot of four Elymais bronzes. Full write-ups to come eventually.
     
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  16. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    Yes, and I hope you will help me with more full ID's on the ones I won. Tom Mallon listed 84 mint cities but obviously no one ruler used them all. Still there are many coins where the reading (if present) is less than certain. I have Mitchiner, Sunrise and Curtis and still get more good out of Tom's website than all of them.
    http://grifterrec.rasmir.com/coins.html
     
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  17. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    That’s a new site for me. I will bookmark it and read through it as I have time. Thanks!
     
  18. Pellinore

    Pellinore Well-Known Member

    A Sasanian drachm, certainly. With the jubilating ribbons at either side of the king's hairball on top of the crown, it must be Kavad I, second reign (499-531 AD). And the double reverse border was first encountered in 520.
    Can't really read the year, but it starts with 3: 33-39 = 520-526 I should say. Mint looks like BN, that was Veh-Ardashir in Persian times, Seleucia before, near Ctesiphon. It is the place of the Arch of Ctesiphon.
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2020
  19. Xodus

    Xodus Well-Known Member

    Wow, thank you so much! I'm so new to these. Where on this do you see the year? I have like 5 more, but I'm just not sure how to read them. Thanks!
     
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  20. DBDc80

    DBDc80 Numismatist

    They did, indeed, have many nice Eastern coins. I won one, a very nice Mithradates II but lost a bid on another.....cant win 'em all....;)
     
  21. Orielensis

    Orielensis Well-Known Member

    I'm definitely no expert on Sasanian coinage, but I found this website extremely helpful when it came to attributing the two or three Sasanian drachms that found their way into my collection.

    Here are a Khusru II and a later "Gadhaiya Paisa" imitating the design of earlier Sasanian drachms:

    Orient, Antike – Sassaniden, Khusru II, Drachme.jpg
    Khusru II, Sasanian Empire, AR drachm, 590–628 AD, Ram Hormizd mint. Obv: cuirassed bust r., with winged crown, three stars within crescents around. Rev: fire altar with two attendants, star and crescent flanking flames. 31mm, 4.07g. Ref: Göbl 213 (?). Ex AMCC 1, lot 482 (their picture).

    Orient, MA – Chalukya von Gujarat, Gadhaiya Paisa, Exemplar 2.png
    Chalukyas of Gujarat, AR “Gadhaiya paisa” (copying earlier Sasanian drachms), c. 1030–1120 AD. Obv: stylized portrait of ruler r. Rev: stylized fire altar. 17mm, 4.01g. Ref: Series 1.4.3; Deyell 158; Mitchiner NI 427.
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2020
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