Good afternoon... This is 36.35mm X 2.69mm; 23.0 grams. Belongs to a fellow without internet access, who asked me to help him identify it. I, being without clue, do throw myself on the mercy of this forum, full in the knowledge of probable success. Thank you all for viewing and commenting.
It is Iranian, because it says Pahlavi king of kings of Iran on it . It looks like a 5000 dinar coin of Reza Shah Pahlavi, but I can't be sure of the denomination because your second photo is too small. You can read all about it in detail at the following link and compare the actual coin with the photos. The little date at the bottom is the date of the coin 1306/1927. The bigger date in the middle is the accession date, Azar 1304/December 1925. http://irancollection.alborzi.com/Rezashahcoin/Reza-coin-3.htm
Thank you, Zuhara! I found, upon looking around on that site, it is the 5000 dinar coin of Reza Shah Pahlavi, and that the mint mark is an 'L' for Leningrad. The size was the determiner for the denomination. Silver, but (so far) no idea of the alloy percentage. I am very grateful, as will be my home-bound buddy. Warren
You are most welcome. Is an interesting coin. Traditionally, Iranian coins were most often silver, but I have no idea what alloys were used. Would a book on modern world coins have that information? I don't know. Best Wishes to your friend .
Zuhara: http://www.vcoins.com/world/canmooseplus/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=25 This (above) site, rather than the one you directed me toward, is the one I mentioned. And the story continues, and he has gifted me with the original coin; PLUS it's twin but for an unreadable mintmark and perhaps a different strike year; PLUS another two of the same series, each successively smaller (one is damaged, but legible); PLUS one from the previous series. All dates are, of course, unreadable to me...but I'll photograph each of them, and make a separate entry in this thread for each soon. Again, my gratitude to you! Warren
How exciting! Your friend is very generous. Thank you for the link, it is nice to be able to find out about the mintmarks. I have never looked at these coins before, so it was interesting to me to learn a bit more about them. I look forward to seeing the pictures of your new coins. I will be happy to read the dates for you. Arabic/Persian numbers are quite easy to read, and if you want to give it a try yourself here is a link. It's not a very scholarly explanation, but I like it because the numbers are clearer and easier to read that on most sites that I have seen: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art46096.asp Although I can often read the inscriptions, I am not an expert in coins, so I hope others who know more will jump in when you post your pictures.
Iranian silver Thanks, Zuhara, particularly for the link. Here's the mate to the first one: 36.33 mm X 2.47 mm; 22.8 G. As before, the temptation to remove some of the patina (which seems to obscure detail) is large...but I am strong. I'll follow with a group shot of all the second batch together, and then continue with individual coins and their specs. wlw
Iranian coins This is lower left, and I believe it to be from an older series. 28.0 mm X 1.8 mm; 9.0 G I'm puzzled at the small file size of these, which I know makes detail viewing difficult. I'm using a new iMac, and iPhoto...both are in the steep portion of a learning curve. I'll figure out how to load better pics (and stay under the 250K limit) eventually. Meanwhile, I'm really enjoying this forum, and becoming far more interested in coins than I would have ever expected. Thanks for the opportunity, and all the helpful comments. wlw
This is the same as the first coin, Reza Shah Pahlavi, silver, 5000 dinars, except that it is dated 1307/1928. I can't see the mint mark. It is perfectly clear, except that it is easier to read dates and such if you take the photos so they can be blown up to a larger size. But these are pretty clear in any case. Here is a link http://www.vcoins.com/world/canmooseplus/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=27
This is a Qajar coin. Ahmed Shah Qajar. Silver 2000 dinars. The date is 1332/1914. Your measurements and weight are a little different than theirs. http://www.vcoins.com/world/canmooseplus/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=14
This is the same ruler, Ahmad Shah Qajar. The date of this one is 1343/1924. The denomination is not really large enough to read easily in your photo, but it looks like a silver 1000 dinar and the weight and the measurements are about right. Here's the link: http://www.vcoins.com/world/canmooseplus/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=62 .
I am copying your photos so this doesn't become confusing . This is another silver coin--2 krans/qirans --of Ahmed Shah Qajar. The mint is Tehran (under the bow on the script-only side), and the date 1329/1911 (under the bow on the lion/sun side). It is, as you say earlier, from the "before coronation" series. http://irancollection.alborzi.com/Qajarcoin/AhmadShah.htm I'm pretty sure about the date, even though the photo is a little small. It must be very difficult to do these photos, I really admire everyone who manages to figure it out. Very pretty coins! And very interesting to look at. Thanks for posting them. Here's the link: http://www.vcoins.com/world/canmooseplus/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=12
@wlwhittier and Zuhara: Thanks for all your posts. These are lovely coins. You two make a good team. r
