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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Finn235, post: 7936967, member: 98035&quot;]Had this one cooking in my mind for a while, figure its finally time to put it down on a thread, given a few recent purchases.</p><p><br /></p><p>One of the earlier mysteries of the early Indo Sassanian series that vexed me is where exactly to draw the line between the earliest series of Peroz imitations (series 1.1) and the later, more standardized issues that would eventually become the Gadhaiya coins (series 1.2). I finally feel that I can convincingly illustrate this evolution to a relative degree of certainty.</p><p><br /></p><p>We&#039;ll start with arguably the most common type - Line Style I, or series 1.1.6.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1373117[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Probably a familiar sight to anyone well-versed in Indo-Sassanian coins, these are instantly recognizable by their round cheek, eye presented by a circle around a dot (sometimes with a trailing line to represent a more Hunnic/Asiatic eye), and their general lack of depth, rather portraying the portrait in a series of line etchings. The attendants wear the ubiquitous &quot;herringbone dress&quot;, and are always seen holding a sash on either side of the fire altar, which sags in the middle.</p><p><br /></p><p>The steps between these are not 100% firm in my mind, but it isn&#039;t much of a leap to place this as a later imitation of the above coin</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1373118[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>(1.1.9.1 - Closing Style I, Hunnic portrait)</p><p><br /></p><p>The portrait bears some clear resemblance, with the eye outlined by a circle and the large moustache, but the face has been filled in a bit, and importantly, the attendants&#039; skirt has become detached from the rest of the body, and the fire altar sash now hangs almost straight down to rest on the base.</p><p><br /></p><p>A slight further modification - 1.1.9.2, Closing Style II, Proto-Chavada portrait)[ATTACH=full]1373119[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Some features such as the eye and moustache are preserved here, but the head has fully merged with the hat, giving the impression of an elongated cranium. The fire altar sash now extends all the way to the edge of the die, and the herringbones of the attendants&#039; dresses have become much less pronounced and fewer in number (I count 4).</p><p><br /></p><p>Then my first recent purchase -</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1373120[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The same overall type, but the portrait has filled out quite a bit and taken a more familiar shape. The reverse is still more archaic, with the sun portrayed with rays, and the fire altar as dots so close together that they have worn into a solid triangle.</p><p><br /></p><p>And finally 1.1.9.3 - the closing series for 1.1</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1373121[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Notably, the fire altar flame has spread out into pellets - now consistently in a 4-3-2-1 pattern, and the herringbones are nearly gone from the attendants&#039; dresses. Notably there is still only one string of dots for the fire altar sash.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another, with a slightly different portrait style with the residual line around the eye reduced to only a heavy eyebrow - the sun now has also been reduced to a rosette of pellets on the upper left of the reverse</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1373130[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>And then- the defining moment that marks the transition between series 1.1 and 1.2 -</p><p><br /></p><p>Another row is added to the fire altar ribbon!</p><p><br /></p><p>In another recent add from the earliest series of 1.2 - the attendants actually hold the upper row, as they did back in 1.1.6</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1373122[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>This type is quite rare - complicated by the almost universally poor state of preservation of these coins. Upon reflection, I am actually realizing the need to completely re-write my treatment of series 1.2 to accommodate these, so type numbers are still a bit up in the air for now.</p><p><br /></p><p>Slightly more common are the next step, where the attendants drop the upper row and let it hang down on top of the bottom</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1373123[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Note that the attendants for now still have a full body with a residual 1-2 herringbones at the bottom of their dress...</p><p><br /></p><p>This is quickly lost as the entire lower half of the attendants&#039; body becomes just a ball with a residual herringbone - marking one of the more common types of 1.2[ATTACH=full]1373124[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Skipping ahead a bit, that herringbone fully replaces the body and becomes the second line in the Gadhaiya we all know and love...</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1373131[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Let&#039;s see those coins and comments![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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