Another coin from the VNA show group is this drachm of Hormazd IV. There have been a lot of his coins on the market lately (I smell a hoard). I bought this because it was cheap, decent looking and, mostly, had rather clear date and mint information that I thought I might be able to read (despite it being in Pahlavi). I was aware I already owned a drachm of Hormazd IV but there are many mints and dates so this one might upgrade or augment that previous coin. When researching this ruler you will find that different sources will use different transliterations of the name. Look also under Hormizd. It turned out that the date (year 12 on reverse left) and mintmark (BYSh) on reverse right were relatively easily found in the lists on Tom Mallon's site. Tom also has a very similar coin a bit over half way down this page: http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/sasania/sas_horIV_2.html I also found a similar coin on the British Museum site: http://www.britishmuseum.org/resear...=904220&partId=1&searchText=hormizd+iv&page=1 Looking at the three BYSh 12 coins I was taken by the similarity in the way their strikes were similar. All three had similar, deeply cut recesses on the obverse caused by the thin flan not providing enough metal for this side and the two attendants on the reverse. In the battle for the metal, the reverse won in each case. This did not strike me as all that much of interest until I looked at the photo of my old Hormazd IV coin: Tom Mallon did not have this one but the British Museum did: http://www.britishmuseum.org/resear...=904215&partId=1&searchText=hormizd+iv&page=1 This pair also shared some striking fault similarities but this time the obverse ruts are less sharply defined and broader. On the reverse there is considerable weakness where the metal chose to go into the obverse portrait resulting in a considerable void across the altar and attendants. Remember these coins were struck with a 3 (or 4) o'clock die axis so the coins of vertical items appear horizontally. This makes me wonder if other Sasanian coins might be equally similar not just in style and legends but in how the dies worked together to share the available silver and what might cause these characteristics to match. This could be the depth of the die cutting, thickness of blanks, strength of strike and, I'm sure, many other things that have not yet come to mind. To a coin collector, all that matters is my new coin is a bit better condition due to the less obtrusive furrows across the obverse. How much we choose to study our coins is up to each of us and there are many ways we might study these coins without getting into the technical points of striking. Whether it is style or matters of 'fabric' (including striking evidence), such studies might help us recognize how a coin should or should not look. Do I think this will protect me from fakes? Only really bad ones. Do questions like this add to the enjoyment of this hobby? To me, yes; to anyone else, who knows.
Great new coin!! => your new addition has fantastic eye-appeal => nice toning!! (a bit like a pair of ol' stone-washed jeans ... it has a very comfy look to it)
Also I have seen Ormazd spelling from eastern sellers. Interesting character, as an intermediary between two of the most important rulers, especially at the end of the empire, of khusro I and II. I find the metal flow interesting as well, and have also seen evidence of a later sassanid hoard on the market. I am trying to "absorb" some of these myself. Buy what you can when you can.
