Ancient-Countermarks! Phromo Kesaro Hormizd IV Imitation (590AD)

I have always went by the philosophy that if you see something rare but it seems common in the market I should own it. If a hoard of a particular type makes it self known to the market place and you have several to choose from you should always get the best coin you can afford and make concessions according to your budget.

I have seen this particular coin and about 4 others like it being sold right now. They are what I consider a "must have" coin.

While making budget concession I had to think about what I really wanted out of the type. So I opted for the VF coin with compete countermarks. I know what your all going to say, there is a rarer version with 3 counter marks instead of two. Mine as you can see has only two.

First, lets talk about the coin its self. I have always been fascinated by cultures who are only predominantly know to us from the coins they struck. The coin is of a well known Shah named Hormizd IV. He ruled Persia from 579-590 AD and he was the son of Khusro I, and a woman from a Turkish tribe. He inherited Khusro's wars with the Byzantines in the West and the various tribes in the East. The coin dates to year 11, the final year of Hormizd's reign and the same year that the named mint city of Balkh (Bactria) fell to the Hephthalites. The coin is said to be an imitation (not a counterfeit) of a Sassanid Dirham of Hormizd. Although from what I understand it is not agreed upon by all. There still is the possibility that the coin is an official issue of regal year 11 and they entered circulation as loot from Balkh. The prevailing opinion is that the coin was struck sometime around in the 630's AD as a stroke for stroke copy of the RY 11 coins. I wonder when does a coin stop being an imitation of a coin and when does it become its own coin type. I would like to know more about this coinage. Fascinating.


The countermarks. Very interesting. One is a that of a man's bust wearing an earring. Presumably the bust of the ruling authority. We may never know which of two countermarks were applied first, or if they were applied at the same time.

The other counter mark is cursive Bactrian Greek text, that reads PHRORO. This has been attributed to the Hephthalite warlord. Phormo Kesaro. Who is said to have been in power in the mid 740's AD. Although there is further information that the Phormo Kesaro is not the name of the ruler but rather a title. The word PHRORO is often found on some coins to be PHORO, weather this is a mistake or a different ruler. Studing the development of language in the area experts surmise that the PHRORO does indeed refer to the title of Phromo Kesaro which loosely translates to Caesar of Rome. A title bestowed upon the various tribal strongman who aided the Byzantine Emperor's in there defense against the Arabs in that century.

32 mm x 3.59 grams
ref:Gobl Dokumente-D.Schnadelback ONS Newsletter 169 (spring 2001) p.3.

for c/m Gobl Dokumente KM 59 var

 

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Super coin AN, and an excellent debriefing. I always enjoy your posts, because we have an appreciation for obscure cultures in common. (Maybe obscure is the wrong word - but certainly less studied.) It's intriguing to try and unlock the mysteries of a civilization through coin evidence.

 

Great write up. The countermarks make the coin more interesting too. Congrats on the addition.

 

I am glad you guys like it. I think its a really fascinating coin.

 

Sweet countermarks, my friend ... nice new pick-up!!

 

You are right a horde of these must have been found about three years ago. I have bought them as I come across them relatively cheaply. Heck, I had no idea you didn't have one, I have maybe five and would have traded one.

I know, you would like me to photograph what I have.

Interesting coin though. Its from a timeframe where turks, huns, and sogdians were all intermixing together. Interesting, but makes it much harder to keep things straight.

 

the last time I saw this I was so focused on the little guy so much that I neglected the PHRORO countermark just as interesting....if not more.

 

I still have trouble accepting the reading of the Greek letters as Phroro which adds a letter from what I see as PhORO. My word is Greek for tribute so would make sense here also but not link the coin to any person. There are also coins of this series with a third c/m but I do not know the meaning of that one either.


As luck would have it, the coin with the worst portrait has the best countermark strikes.

 

Very nice countermarks on that one Doug. I am always torn about what to worry about more, the host oin or the countermarks.

 

Reshoot.


and upgrade....kinda

 

I upgraded my 2 c/m coin to get a better strike of the PHORO mark. I remain of the opinion that the people who are reading Phromo are confusing the matter to make the coins say what they wish they said rather than what they say. The first letter is a Phi with two large circles flanking one vertical stroke. Some partly struck coins show only the tops so people read the one letter as two. I have never seen a coin I believe reads phRoro.
It is true that it is hard to select a coin with both clear host and clear c/m's. I would love to have a better example of the three mark type I posted above but these are scarce and I have not had the opportunity to upgrade that one.

 

It's clear to me now Doug! Tribute! Phi large kind of like a bow tie on end. If that's the case the who attribution is in question. I suspect these to be official coins rather than imitations. I suppose now we know less about then the coin than we did before. Excellent.

 

Here is another one with a nice c/m head.

AN, thanks for the associated story. Well done!