Indo Sassanian Coinage, Series 1.1 - Early types

I've been blabbering about these long enough, might as well cross-post my write-ups on these coins for whoever might be interested!

At the beginning of the Gadhaiya Paisa track is a series of enigmatic coins. Significantly more diverse than any other series, these remain something of a mystery. Leading theories hold that these were either brought into India from Hepthalite and other Hunnic tribes in the 6th-8th centuries, or that they are a native invention inspired by the coinage of the invaders. My readings seem to indicate that they originate outside of Gujarat at any rate, centralized in NW India. For the time being, and absent any raw data on actual hoard contents and find spots, I will attempt to refrain from any wild speculation and present these from a purely stylistic standpoint. The incredible variety present herein seems to argue that there is a huge spread here, but whether temporal, cultural, or simply artistic tastes of individual celatores, I cannot comment. I will attempt to place these into buckets based on style, but keep in mind that many (or all) of these sub-series were probably made concurrently.

**Added:
Maheshwari attributes these coins to the Gurjjar people, a warrior clan who originated in Central Asia. They supposedly migrated with the Hephtalites and/or Alchons during their invasion of India in the 500s as something between slaves and mercenaries-for-hire. They ultimately settled Gujarat permanently, and went on to found the Chaulukya dynasty - They ruled a small princely state there until the unification of India after 1947, and today are registered as a minority "Other Backwards Caste". **

Some consideration points for the series:

Area - NW India/Afghanistan/Pakistan
Time period - 500-700 AD?
Attributed to - Huns, Gurjuras, Chavdas
Overall rarity - Less common to Extremely rare
Price range - $15 - $100+

Fabric
Flan diameter - Large (20-25mm)
Die size - Smaller than flan
Typical centering - Fair
Strike quality - Poor
Thickness - Thin
Weight - 3.7 - 4.1g
Typical wear - Heavily worn
Silver purity - High (90-95%)

Design
Engraving skill - Good/fair
Design relief - Low (early) / outlines (late)

General:
- All are copies of Peroz I's third crown type drachm, featuring a winged helmet and royal ribbons flanking the portrait on either side. The reverse features a fire altar flanked by two attendants, star/sun and moon above.
- These tend to be very high quality (90% or higher) silver and struck on reasonably thin, broad flans. They conform to a tight weight standard of about 3.8-4.1g, and diameter is 21-24mm in most cases.
- Most are poorly struck, usually with large areas that are entirely smooth.
- Most lack fine detail (in particular the faces of the attendants). Compared to the later Gadhaiya Paisa, however, most of these are very stylish and reflect that the individual coin may have been subject to the whims and skill of the celator.
- Variety is staggering; nearly every coin I have ever seen from this series could be said to be a separate variety. Die matches are seemingly very rare.
- The flan is almost always larger than the die, and the die border is comprised of a ring of what resembles shark's teeth. Some examples have design elements pass over and beyond this die border.

Portrait:
- Styles and executions vary widely; few approach the levels of artistry seen on official Peroz drachms (a very, very few exceed it), but examples range from lifelike to schematized and cartoonish.
- All examples have a winged crown, helmet or hat
- All examples wear a pearl or beaded necklace
- All examples have shoulder pads beneath the portrait
- All examples have one ribbon before and one ribbon behind the portrait. Ribbons are composed of a "top" of three horizontal lines, and a "bottom" that is a thin curvy, roughly S-shaped line. On this series only, the bottom of the ribbon is often comprised of two, three, or four separate strokes.
- All examples have a hair bun behind the portrait, but it quickly becomes unrecognizable as such
- Most/All examples portray an earring, usually with three pearls; two attached to a chain, while the third is supsended beneath the other two.
- Most examples portray a beard.
- Few examples portray an orb above the helmet.
- Characteristic of this series, the helmet often has a decorative element at the top that can be compared to an antenna.
- Very few coins I have encountered show the crescent located at the front of Peroz's crown in official coins
- Many (but not all) examples have an unusually wide brim on the hat, sometimes extending all the way to the end of the die.
- No examples have a legend, pseudo-legend, or tamgha anywhere on the obverse
- Unlike the contemporary imitations from Central Asia, these coins never have four pellets around the obverse die border.

Fire Altar:
- Fire altar is composed of 4 parts: (from top to bottom) The Flame, the Bowl, the Shaft, and the Base.
- Like the Peroz prototype, the Flame is usually a pyramid of dots arranged into even rows. The flame forms a triangular shape, usually by removing one dot for every row upward from the base. This is most commonly 4-3-2-1, but can also be 5-4-3-2-1. Some styles portray a solid flame, or tightly clustered dots or lozenge shapes that do not form lines.
- The bowl holds the flame, and is comprised of three horizontal lines, with the top being the widest. Most examples have crescent shapes on either side of the bowl, resembling parentheses. This is almost certainly a misunderstanding of certain coins of Peroz (and their imitations) in which the attendants gesture toward the flame.
- The shaft is a vertical pole that connects the bowl to the base. It begins as a rectangle, and often presents as a lozenge or diamond shape. It is quite small on many specimens.
- Two ribbons hang from the bottom of the fire altar bowl. On the original Peroz and very early imitations, these hang downward at roughly a 30 or 45 degree angle away from the fire altar shaft. Some do not have ribbons, but most portray the attendants holding the ribbon, which sags toward the middle.
- The base is at the bottom of the fire altar, and is three horizontal lines which mirror the bowl.
- Above the fire altar are a moon and a star or sun. On the Peroz prototype, the sun is at the left, and the moon is at the right. These can follow the "correct" pattern, or the positions can be switched. A small minority of coins seem to have two moons.

Attendants:
- Both attendants wear dresses and have what appear to be breasts, so I take that to mean that they are both female. I really don't know if that is the correct interpretation, however.
- Unique to this series, both attendants wear a "thorn dress" or "herringbone" which is decorated with small points or spikes sticking out away from the body. These are very subtle on earlier coins, but many "late" coins take this to such extremes that the attendants almost look like fish skeletons. A minority of coins have dots rather than lines (as on the original Peroz) and some have a more realistic, three-dimensional dress.
- The attendants usually wear a necklace; this can be a solid line, or a string of dots.
- The attendants have one visible arm, which bends at the elbow to motion toward the fire altar/hold the ribbon. The arm never has a hand, and can either bend sharply or curve smoothly at the elbow.
- The attendants very rarely have facial features; the head is usually just a dot or tall oval.
- Some attendants have clear legs beneath the dress, while others have stubby dots beneath, or nothing at all.
- Some "late" styles reduce the dress to what appears to be a skirt; the spikes are still present, however.
- Very rarely, some examples have pseudo-legends or decorative lines behind one or both attendants, where the mint and name would be present on an official Peroz drachm.

Within this series, I will group my coins into the following sub-series:

1.1.1 - "Gurjura" Early Style Imitative
1.1.2 - "Hun Profile"
1.1.3 - Fancy hat type, large square jaw
1.1.4 - Fancy hat type, pointed nose
1.1.5 - Uncertain intermediate types
1.1.6 - Line style I
1.1.7 - Line Style II
1.1.8 - Line Style III
1.1.9 - Closing series

 

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1.1.1 - "Gurjura" Early Style Imitative

These somewhat rare coins are a close technical copy of original Peroz I drachms, so I take them to be first in this series. Not especially breathtaking from an artistic standpoint, but placed side by side with the original, the shape and proportions of the head, crown, wings, shoulder pads, necklace, fire altar, and attendants are a very good match. Importantly, however, are some simplifications, perhaps due to a lack of artistic skill on the part of the celator:
- The portrait looks straight ahead rather than slightly upward (This is sometimes seen on official coins).
- The brim of the hat becomes flat.
- The eye becomes simplified, showing as a circle on my example, or as a dot on others I have seen.
- The brow is furrowed and very straight.
- The ribbons become three parallel horizontal lines and are no longer 3D nor slanted as on the original.
- There is never an obverse legend.
- The attendants are stylized differently than on the Sassanian prototype. They have a very tall, very thin body, and we can see the first instance of the "thorn dress" albeit the portrusions are somewhat faint on this coin.
- These coins usually retain imitative legends on the reverse, behind the attendants. These can be almost-legends or decorative lines. My example possibly has cursive Bactrian "ALCHOON" which--assuming it's not just a scribbly line--further attests that these coins were inspired by the Hun invaders of the 6th century.

1.1.1 Coin 1
25mm
4.00g

For the time being, this is sadly my only coin of this sub-series... they do not often show up on eBay. The simplifications are already apparent, but all things considered, this is still a remarkably good technical copy of an official Peroz drachm. Compare against this official coin from the GWL mint:


One of the most remarkable things (in my eye) about this coin is the early appearance of the thorn dress for the attendants. It has no other precedence--it is not present on any official Peroz coin, nor on any proper Hunnic coin. It is an original development, and inexplicably one that will bind this entire, incredibly diverse series.

Also unique to these very early types, we can see a remnant of a legend behind each attendant. Highlighted here:

 

1.1.2 - "Hun" Profile

This is admittedly a junk bin category. Pretty much the only common factor of these coins is that the portrait is different and distinctly "Hunnic", that is, Iranian or Central Asian. These tend to show a higher degree of artistic skill and flair, and often the portrait sports a large nose and no beard. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to the placement of these coins within this sub-series, since there is no logical progression from any Point A to Point B.

1.1.2 Coin 1
22mm
4.15g


This coin is a real stand-out; both uncommonly realistic for any Indian-made Peroz prototype, and also of a very deliberate style. Here the whole portrait sits very large and well-centered on the coin, characterized by a pointed nose, small downward-sloping moustache, and heavy, squared, bearded jaw. The eye unfortunately is obscured by an area of flat-strike, as is the upper head gear. The shoulders are much larger than typical for this series, and give the impression that the textured shoulder pads might in fact be a sort of cape attached at a brooch at the chest. The neck is large and thick; the beaded necklace quite prominent. The ear is large, slightly pointed, and adorned by a three-pearl earring. What we can see of the hat indicates a sort of textured helmet flanked by small wings, and the brim extends on either side to the edge of the die - a single line of dots. The ribbons are large and carefully arranged to fill the empty space in front of and behind the portrait, but the bottom portion of the ribbon seems to extend from the top portion, touch the shoulder pads, and then trail off the die. The hair bun is a large, 8 or 9-rayed star behind the portrait.

The most prominent feature of the reverse is a tall, somewhat tilted fire altar with a very short, squat flame of indistinct dots. It is difficult to tell whether or not the reverse suffers from a double strike, but the shaft appears as a thin tall column with a central decoration or bulge. A small moon is crammed in the upper left; the upper right is not entirely clear, but I suspect it is a second moon.

The attendants display the typical thorn dress, curved sharply backward and with prominent breasts. Interestingly, the dress becomes indistinct past the arm, and there seem to be small dots for the legs. Each attendant wears a necklace with six beads, and has a long, smoothly curving arm. Of very great importance, the left attendant's second arm bends at an elbow - the only such detail I have seen on these coins! The left attendant also has something resembling a face, as well as a few stray dots at the top of the head - perhaps some sort of hairdo?


The right attendant similarly has intriguing features, almost appearing to have a realistic face looking away from the flame:

 

1.1.2 Coin 2
23mm
3.91g
A personal favorite, this one unfortunately has a mostly flat-struck portrait, but is otherwise in excellent condition. A bit more in line with the original Peroz, the portrait of this king looks slightly upward, and the ribbons are also tilted, although they still display as the simplified lines typical of this style. There is a beard running around the back of the king's jaw, but it doesn't seem to wrap all the way around to his chin. He is also sporting a small mustache or fu manchu, which is not often seen in this coin type. The nose is also characteristically large for this type, and the hat only bears a passing resemblance to Peroz's crown - it appears to be a winged skull cap with no brim, and the orb is incredibly small if not completely nonexistent.

On the reverse, the basic formula for the fire altar is the same, but the top is much wider than most, and the rows of flame-pellets are uneven and seem to follow a 5-4-3-1 pattern. The attendants are highly stylized and already approaching the "fish bone" look here. Unusually, the parentheses shapes (attendants' other arm/hand) curves outward away from the flame, not inward.

 

1.1.2 Coin 3
22mm
4.12g
Closely related to our Coin 2, but with a smaller, chubbier bust of less careful style. Again with the same striking issues, this one has surface troubles that may be attributable to either a double strike, overstrike, or simply careless flan preparation. The portrait follows the same mold, but has a wider, cubbier cheek, puffy lips, and a tiny, pointy nose. It is also crammed further to the left of the die, and is a bit more angled, like the king is leaning in from behind something!

The fire altar is almost the same here, although it seems to shift in the middle; perhaps a double strike at play? We can clearly see a little sun at the left and a moon at the right, and as with the last coin, the flame is very wide and squat to fit it on the die.

Very interestingly, the attendants' dresses are depicted by a single thick line, which branches out at the bottom to make the hem of the dress - clearly not all coins in this series follow the "thorn dress" rule so carefully! The head and necklace are quite well and carefully engraved, and we see the arm is bent sharply at the elbow, and engraved with two strokes.

 

1.1.2 Coin 4
22mm
4.09g

Quite a unique style, this one is characterized by a tiny, pointed nose, pursed lips, and a very small ear that sits directly under the brim of the hat. The hair bun is an indistinct blob hovering behind the head, and the lower portion of the ribbons are made up of two disconnected crescents. The hat is not in relief, and is decorated with a crescent. The brim of the hat is narrow, and there is a prominent "antenna" decoration coming from the top of the hat. The orb is visible, but weakly struck and indistinct - easy to miss if you weren't looking for it!

The reverse, curiously, is of very fine style. The attendants have gracefully curving bodies with solid dresses. Unlike the usual type where the hem of the dress splits at about knee length, this shows the hem as a slanted line which curiously extends beyond the dress. No legs are seemingly present. The attendants' heads are tall ovals with no facial features, although the necklaces are carefully and prominently engraved, each with five pearls. The attendants' far arm remains close to the body, and is distinct from the fire altar. The right attendant's far arm is extremely small!

The fire altar is well-proportioned, with large flame dots in a 4-3-2-1 pattern. The sun is at the left as an indistinct pom pom shape, and the moon is at the right; a barely discernable crescent. The shaft is a tall thin pillar, and the ribbons are a sash made of dots, sagging in the middle and held by each attendant.

A match to this coin was recently unsold at VAuctions:
http://www.vauctions.com/ViewArchiv...asp?ID=40721

 

1.1.2 Coin 5
21mm
3.92g

This was one of my favorites the first time around, and remains so today!

The portrait is the most striking feature of this coin, with a large, pointed nose, large lips, small chin, and tall head. The eye is unusually present, albeit weakly struck. Heavy wear and flat struck areas sadly limit detailed analysis of many of the portrait's features, although we can see that the "antenna" here has largely merged with the hat. The ribbons are carefully arranged to fill in nearly all of the obverse die, leaving almost no negative space on the obverse. Unusually, the bottom portion of the ribbon connects between the necklace and shoulder pads.

The reverse is quite simplistic, characterized by a large fire altar with a large and wide bowl, large and wide base, and a very small shaft (unfortunately flat-struck here). The flame seems to follow a 4-3-2-1 pattern, but the sun (depicted as a single dot with 8 rays emanating from it) is on the right side, not the left. The moon is off-flan.

The attendants are small and simply engraved--the head is a dot only slightly larger than those around it, while the body is a thin line with very faint and crudely engraved thorns. No legs are present, and the arms are simply engraved, bending at the elbow. The necklace of five pearls wraps confusedly around the head.

A particularly interesting feature of this coin is a textured pattern of a straight line and criss-crossed lines in a flat-struck area beneath the right shoulder pad - I believe this is a remnant of the flan preparation process, although I am not sure what it indicates.

 

1.1.2 Coin 6

This coin is of the same type as Coin 5, although I sold it in mid-2017. Intriguingly, it appears to be more or less a die match to Coin 5 - quite a rarity within this type!

The portrait is sadly flat struck in the rear, although we can see the details of the face. In particular, we can see a slightly furrowed brow, and the first clear appearance of a line that bisects the pupil - a mysterious feature we will explore much more in-depth at a later date!

The reverse is mostly flat struck on the left side, although the right side is more clearly struck. The attendant here is more clearly presented, although the head is very slighlty more elongated than on Coin 5 - I am unsure if this indicates that a different die was used, or simply that die wear developed over time. Here the arm is quite well presented as two long lines, meeting at a right angle. The body is also more delicately present, and we can see some faint thorns coming from the dress.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't bring this back up for discussion. It could be coincidence, but I feel strongly inclined to say that these two coins may have been inspired by the Hunnic overlords once served by the Gurjjars. Compare to this artist's impression, compiled from literary descriptions and archaeological remains:


Photo credit:
http://www.ernak-horde.com/Hun_origins.html

The Huns were known practitioners of headbinding, or cranial deformation of their infants through wrapping the head in tight bandages. While precious few literary works from the Huns themselves survive, they were noted for practicing cheek scarification; cutting their faces ostensibly to prevent the growth of a full beard, and also to mourn a fallen commander or chief. This is intriguing because the kings beard is such a prominent feature of most coins of series 1.1, and all subsequent series in this track until it fizzled out in the mid-1300s. Sub-series 1.1.2 is the only one to feature clean-shaven busts!

 

1.1.2 Coin 7
23mm
4.05g

This coin I believe to be related to Coins 5 and 6, although the exact relationship is unclear to me. The flat-struck area is quite unfortuante, although we still have a lot to work with here. The nose is perhaps the most striking feature of this coin, and is quite realistically engraved--large with a rounded tip and large nostrils. The lips are pursed similarly to the previous two coins, and we can also see a small chin beneath them. The ear seems to have either an elongated lobe or a hoop earring, but the three earring pearls are still present. The lower portion of the ribbon is elegantly engraved, with two parallel curving lines giving it a somewhat less two-dimensional appearance, although not entirely convincing.

The fire altar on the reverse is large, but not quite as large as previously. The bowl and base are both large and wide, and the shaft is a simple rectangle connecting them. The flames feature prominently in a 4-3-2-1 pattern, and the sun is again a rayed dot to the upper right. The ribbon is a confused mess of dots in front of the attendants.

The attendants are again portrayed with small, thin, simply engraved bodies, although the thorns are a bit more prominent here. The faces are unadorned large dots, surrounded by their necklaces. The arm is long, and bends sharply at the elbow.

 

1.1.2 Coin 8
22mm
4.07g

Another with a rather distinctive portrait!

This one unfortunately suffers from striking issues, but we can see a beardless portrait with a large, almond-shaped eye and a long, pointed nose. The nostrils and lips are a bit confused, but there appears to be a moustache coming from the upper lip. The potrait's hat is a cone hovering above the brim, and has some indistinct decorations on it. The ear is a bit large and round for this series, and the earring beads are extra large below it. The hair bun star has been replaced with what looks like an X (right below the hat, next to the rear ribbon), and there are mystery pellets surrounding it.

Interestingly, we can see that the bottom portion of the right ribbon originates from the king's lips, almost like he is blowing smoke. Compare to Coin 7 above, and it is not difficult to argue that this coin is probably a derivative; the celator ran out of room before the shoulder pads, and had to drop the extra line.

The reverse is somewhat obscured by flat-struck areas, but we can see the fire altar features prominently in the center. The flames are probably 4-3-2-1. Breaking from the formula, we can clearly see that the base of the fire altar sports four layers, not three! The shaft is a small unadorned line, and once again the ribbons are a confused mess of dots clustered around the center. Here we can prominently see that the moon is on the left, and there is a large pellet within the crescent.

The attendants are tall, thin, have long arms and curving backs, large prominent necklaces, and a dress hem that forks at the bottom. The legs have been replaced with two pellets beneath the dress.

 

1.1.2 Coin 9
24mm
3.96g

Hold up, is that a die match?

Why yes it is! Here we have yet another extremely rare case of two coins made from the same die, this time purchased from the same seller and probably found together in the same hoard. Curiously, this one is struck on a flan a full 2mm larger in diameter, and a large unstruck rim is the result.

The strike is distributed more evenly, so here we can see that the portrait's nose comes down to a sharp point that touches the ribbon below it. The stray dots are still present behind the head, but their purpose is still no more clear.

The reverse confirms the 4-3-2-1 flame pattern, but the plot thickens as two additional dots appear at the top, next to the moon... I am not sure what to make of these!

 

1.1.2 Coin 10
21mm
3.93g

The style here is quite a bit different than the other coins of 1.1.2 - I am not even entirely certain where to place it. It is here only by virtue of lacking a beard.

The portrait is well-centered, carefully engraved, and fully struck - these types are almost without exception. The head shape is quite distinct with a large square cheek, squared off jaw, and a brow that runs from the back of the head and becomes the nose. The hat is a tall semicircle, and we can somewhat see the orb above it. The wings are rather simply engraved, and shaped like downward-facing cornucopiae. The ear is small, simply engraved, and the earring seems to only have two earrings. The hair bun is a filled in, thick star of six rays. The necklace is a single row of beads, and there is no visible neck. The shoulder pads on mine appear as a solid shape.

The most unusual characteristic of this coin is that the top portion of both the front and rear ribbons is only two lines, not three! This is the only coin type in this entire track that has a visible ribbon of only two lines.

The fire altar here is tall and somewhat narrower than the previous coins. The shaft has taken a somewhat diamond or lozenge shape. The flame follows the 4-3-2-1 pattern, and sadly the sun and moon are not visible on my specimen. The ribbons are a short, simple string of dots held by each attendant.

The attendants here are quite striking, almost serpentine in appearance! The head is an unadorned pellet sitting atop a crescent necklace with no beads, and the two breasts lay just below. Beneath the breasts begins the dress, here with extremely prominent thorns that curve into almost an S shape. The arm is long and curves smoothly at the elbow. The back arm almost seems to attach to the shoulder and moves down to the bottom line of the fire altar bowl. It is difficult to tell whether the dress simply ends at the die border, or whether there are tiny pellet legs below.

This coin type seems to be a bit more common than others-- I have one, Maheshwari illustrates six, and they periodically appear at auctions. Example:
https://www.cNGCoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=98580

 

1.1.3 - Fancy Hat type, Large square jaw

This type is reasonably common within this series, although certain varieties can fetch respectable prices at auction. The defining characteristics of this category are:
- The portrait has a large, jutting jaw that curves smoothly with finely engraved beard dots, and slightly open lips.
- The eyes are usually circular with dot pupils, as if the king is surprised.
- The hat is large with a brim that usually runs to the edge of the die. The top is tall and narrow, and usually sports large, stylish wings. Think of a big sombrero, but with wings. The hat usually takes up about a third of the total obverse die, but may take up nearly half in some cases.


1.1.3 Coin 1
23mm
3.89g

This first coin, although worn, is nearly fully struck, which is unusual for this sub-series. Presumably an earlier iteration, the engraving of this coin is fine, showing that the face was originally struck in full relief. The eye unfortunately cannot be distinguished here, but we can see a small pointed nose, lips apparently attached to the cheek, and a characteristic strong jaw lined with a beard. The hat here takes up just under half of the total obverse die, and the dotted brim runs all the way to the border of the die on either side. The crescent is clearly present, and we can see the orb above; here an indistinct pom-pom shape with remnants of turrets (This is the basis of Maheshwari's Gadhaiya Type 1, which we will discuss later). The shoulder pads show some texture (these are frequently flat-struck or worn smooth anyway) and are attached to a central ring-shaped brooch, displaying like an oversized bow tie beneath the bust. The bottom portion of the front ribbon seems to be coming from the shoulder pad, under the chin, and the lines of the upper portion are somewhat crooked. The rear ribbon originates from under the tuft of hair behind the head, and curves upward to the awkwardly spaced upper portion.

The reverse shows the fire altar well-proportioned in the middle of the coin; the flames as a triangle of tightly clustered dots that mostly merge together. The shaft is an unadorned pillar, and the ribbons are clearly engraved strings of dots held by each attendant. The moon is on the left, displaying as a large crescent with a central dot, and the sun is on the right, displaying like a large pom pom shape.

The attendants are tall thin, wear prominent thorn dresses, and have elongated featureless oval heads which tilt away from the fire altar. The arms are long, meeting sharply at the elbow, and curving in a crescent from the elbow to the ribbon. The dress splits at the bottom, and reveals two small, simple legs.

 

1.1.3 Coin 2
23mm
3.92g

Although nearly uncirculated, this coin is plagued by striking issues. Here we can see the more naturalistic representation of the face on the previous coin giving way to something more schematized. Here we can see a portrait with a large circular cheek, round, wide open eyes, a strong jawline lined with two rows of beard-dots, and a long straight nose with a small nostril. The ear is high, well engraved, and the earring shows only two beads at the end of very long chains. The headgear is mostly obscured by the flat strike, but we can see parts of the large, ornate wing, and interestingly a decorative element above the brim, displaying as a line terminating in a dot. Again on this portrait, the hair bun is a large pom-pom, although distinctively more star-shaped, perhaps due to being in better condition. The rear ribbon is made up of a two-stroke lower portion originating from the die border just behind the shoulder pad, and leads up to a slanted but more attractively engraved upper portion. The shoulder pads again display like large textured clubs attached at a central brooch.

The reverse, although mostly obscured, is nearly identical to our coin 1. We can see a plain unadorned pillar attaching the bowl of the fire altar to the base, and the attendants are tall, thin, wearing prominent thorns, and have a prominent split at the bottom of the dress that reveals two legs comprised of dots.

 

1.1.3 Coin 3
22mm
3.98g

Here is a rare sighting - a nearly fully struck coin!

The portrait on this example is nearly identical to our Coin 2, although it is more crudely engraved, most notably with fewer dots in the beard. An important distinction is that the hat has shrunk considerably, although it is still tall and narrow with elaborate wings. Due to the slightly smaller size of this coin, the ribbons seem crammed in at the corners - note how the lower portion of the rear ribbon is almost nonexistent.

The reverse is still attractively proportioned, although the fire seems a bit tightly clustered at the top. Contrasting with coin 1, here we see the sun on the left (engraved by making a central dot, and adding rays, some of which are crooked) and presumably the moon on the right.

The attendants are somewhat more stylized here, curving backwards more sharply, and with extra tall heads that pass over the border of the die. The thorns are much more prominent here, and the breasts are more clearly engraved beneath the necklace. Still in line with the schema for this type, the elbow meets at a nearly 90 degree angle, and the lower arm curves.

 

1.1.4- Fancy hat, Pointed Nose

This type is closely related to 1.1.3, although it is difficult to determine whether they were minted before, after, or concurrently. They are less common than the square jaw type, but common enough to get their own type. the defining characteristics of this category are:
- The portrait is overall more realistically proportioned, with a small, more rounded jaw
- The nose comes to a sharp point
- The eye is still round and wide open
- The brim of the hat is wide, but not typically run to the edge of the die
- The wings are not as large as on 1.1.3, but are more "feathery" and ornate.
- The hat is topped with a quite prominent "Antenna"
- The fire altar shaft is so small it almost appears to be a dot


1.1.4 Coin 1
22mm
4.04g

As noted above, this coin prominently features a bust resembling those of 1.1.3, however lacking the powerful jaw. The eye is wide open, a dot within a circle. The nose comes down to a point, and the nostril is a crescent opening toward that point, giving the impression of a sharply pointed schnozz. The beard again displays as two rows of dots, the outer coming around to form the chin. The ear is larger and more pointed than on 1.1.3; the earring unfortunately is somewhat obscured by a die break, thus impossible to determine whether it has two beads or three. The hair bun is a large pom pom situated behind the bust. The hat is small and rounded, and sports a nice little antenna at the top. There is no trace of an orb above the helmet. The wings are large and ornate.

The reverse unfortunately suffers from an off-center strike and numerous strike issues. We can see a very tall and wide fire altar with just a tiny lozenge at the center for the pillar. The ribbons originate from this lozenge, and are horizontal squiggly lines. Only the right attendant is visible - She is quite thin and tall with exceptionally long arms (unfortunately obscured by a large die break). The hem of the dress seems to split in the middle, and reveals two legs made of dots. The attendant's head is not visible, nor are the sun and moon.

 

1.1.4 Coin 2
23mm
3.80g

Sadly, the face of this coin is obscured by a flat-struck area; I do feel however that it shares enough features with the previous coin to be placed here. As with Coin 1, we can see a conservatively sized hat with an antenna at the top. The wings are still ornately engraved, but are much smaller now. The brim of the hat is wide, and seems to curve upward slightly. We can see a broad neck, and large, patterned shoulder pads connected at a central brooch.

The fire altar is tall and wide, and shows the same tiny lozenge shaft. Curiously, the flame is not textured at all - it is simply a solid triangular block. The ribbons are somewhat longer, beaded, but still are nearly horizontal coming from the shaft. The moon is on the left, and the sun appears to be a few dots clustered at the right. The attendants sadly are not especially clear, but are quite different than the attendant on Coin 1. The left attendant shows us that the dress most closely resembles 1.1.2 Coin 4 - there are no visible thorns, and the dress beneath the arm is a block, with a slanting hem that hangs off to the side. The legs are both strings of dots, and the arm is a singular, smoothly curving line that holds the ribbon. The right attendant shows about the same, although we can now see that the arm gesturing toward the fire altar is extremely small, almost nonexistent. The necklace is beaded, and the head is a small oval that does not pass over the die border.

 

Series 1.1.5 - Uncertain Intermediate & Late Types

Admittedly another junk bucket category - This series is littered with one-off coins that are different enough from the other, established categories (as well as one another, usually) that they evade a more precise categorization. These are distinct from Series 1.1.2 in that:

- The portrait is usually of lesser artistic merit, and is at least passingly similar to 1.1.4 or 1.1.5
- The portrait usually has a beard
- The attendants tend to be more stylized and less realistic

1.1.5 Coin 1
24mm
4.05g

This coin I feel most closely draws its inspiration from 1.1.3. We can see a face that is stylized, but not yet abstracted. Of particular note, the cheek is solid, but tapers off to a point, and the nose, while fully in relief, is separated from the head in a way that reminds of a Mr. Potato Head toy. The beard hovers an awkward distance from the cheek. The eye and headgear unfortunately are obscured by a flat strike. The ear is large, well, engraved, and sports a three-pearl earring, with a star standing in for the hair bun behind it. The shoulder pads here are textured clubs attached to a central brooch beneath the portrait. The bottom portion of the front ribbon is visible, and presents as an elaborately curving pair of two parallel lines. Curiously, the rear ribbon lacks this detail, and is a single line swirl crammed in between the hair bun and the die border.

The fire altar here is notable for its exceptionally wide base that merges with the flame to become a diamond shape. The shaft presents almost like a spear head shape, and the base is mostly obscured by the striking issues. The ribbons are tightly clustered strings of dots hanging from the bowl and sagging on their way to the attendants. We can see a delicately engraved crescent moon above to the right, but the sun is mostly obscured by the striking issues - if anything, it seems to present as a large X shape.

The right attendant here is exceptional in that she appears to have a face:

The thorn dress is extremely prominent here, although it flattens out a bit beneath the arm. The dress forks at the bottom, but the legs are just two dots! The arm is medium length, meeting sharply at the elbow. Curiously, there are three dots at the shoulder; perhaps indicating a sort of shoulder pad or other decoration?

 

1.1.5 Coin 2
23mm
4.04g

This coin is clearly of the same issue as our Coin 1, possibly even from the same dies. The flat-struck areas on these two coins complement one another, so a certain assessment may not be possible.

The portrait on this coin is more complete, and more striking. We can see the eye here is an unadorned dot sitting within a rather large eye socket. The huge nose displays as an irregular wedge shape, disconnected from the rest of the face except perhaps at the nasal bridge. The ear is large, rounded, and adorned with a three-pearl earring. The hair bun is a star behind the head, here showing more worn than the previous example. The rear ribbon is visible here, the lower portion comprised of two lines trailing in from the edge of the die, and the upper portion cramped beneath the brim of the hat, which is mostly not visible.

Again, the fire altar takes a rather striking shape, the flame seemingly a solid triangle atop the bowl. The shaft is a lozenge shape, and short sagging ribbons hang from the bottom of the bowl. There appear to be *two* moons on this coin.

The attendants again take a rather unusual form, with a large, almost naturally shaped head atop a body of extremely prominent herringbones. The legs are two large dots at the bottom of the dress, and the arms are extremely long, here again with a subtle three-pellet decoration at the shoulder. An important feature here - near the elbow of the left attendant we can see a small squiggle; as far as I have seen, this is the last coin from this entire track to show any remnant of the original Pahlavi legend.

 

1.1.5 Coin 3
22mm
3.87g

Here we see a foreshadowing of the portrait type that will come to dominate series 1.2. Although quite rough around the edges, we can see a very tall, thin portrait with highly simplified features but an elegantly and heavily engraved scowling eyebrow. The eye is an unadorned dot sitting snugly within the eye socket. Unlike the previous coins, the nose here is a simple line running from the eyebrow until it is even with the top lip, and the nostril is an unattached dot hovering between the nose and the face. The lips are dots attached to the face, and interestingly, they are not even, giving the impression of a rather severe underbite. The hat sports a very wide brim made up of rows of dots, and the wings are somewhat small and simply engraved. The top of the headgear is moderately wide, short, and sports a small antenna; no orb is visible. The shoulder pads are too weakly struck to determine if they are textured, but interestingly we can see small protrusions beneath them, as if they were intended to portray a sort of cloak or cape tied at the king's neck? The ribbon is rather simplistic, the lower portion originating from right above the shoulder pad and lazily curving upward to the upper portion, which are three perfectly spaced and parallel lines.

The fire altar is tall and thin, with the base somewhat wider than the bowl or flame. The flame is weakly struck; I cannot comment on its structure. The shaft is mostly a thick line, although there is a bulge or decoration at the middle. The ribbons are strings of dots hanging down from the bowl to the attendants' hands. There is a visible moon at the top left; the top right is indistinct.

The attendants are a bit unusual. The head is large and ovoid, with what appears to be a nose and/or mouth, but otherwise no visible facial features. The necklace is quite prominent, and the breasts are large and prominently engraved. The body is a single curving line with dots placed along its length; no herringbones! The dress forks at the end, but no legs are visible. The arm is long and curves smoothly at the elbow, with a dot representing the hand. The fire altar-side arm originates at the bottom line of the bowl and follows the curvature tightly before terminating at the top line.