The Great Shapur, The Great Shah of Perisa , Nightmare of the Romans (240-272 AD)

Persia, The Sassanid Kingdom
Shapur I The Great King Shah of Persia (240 -272 AD)
AR Drachm 3.79g x 24.5mm
Obv. Bust of Shapur I right with earring; crown with ear flap. Pahlavi script- "The Mazda Worshiper. the divine Shapur, King of Kings of Iran whom descended from the Gods.
Rev. Zoroastrian Alter with Two Attendants.-Pahlavi script-"The Fire of Shapur"

Defeated Three Roman Emperoers in Battle, Killed Gordian III in Battle, Forced Philip the Arab into a Shameful treaty, Captured, "footstooled" and stuffed Valerian I.

Shapur was co-regent in the early days with his father Ardashir I. In a letter from the Emperor Gordian III, he states, "the King(s) of Persia" the plural, giving us the presumption that in the early years of adulthood Shapur sat on the thrown as co- regent with his father.

 

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Nice one!

Ive been looking for a type of him since he is s historical with the romans but nearly all I see is starting at $100.

Im going to long beach next week so I will be on the lookout for one.

 

Well I got a deal on this coin. As I often hunt for the deal harder then hunt for the coin, I got this for less than $150. I think you would be hard pressed to find one in comparable condition for under $200. I am sure they are out there, but many command a significant premium. I considered it a happy day when I got this coin. I also have a high grade Philip the Arab and Gordian III, I have a lower grade Valerian I but that will soon change as he is not a ruler with super expensive issues. I really felt I had to have this coin. I love historic rulers and one of this magnitude was a must have.



Also I have noticed that many of the ones listed on Numismall, are misattributed. If you look at the coin title, they say Shapur I but they are actually much later Shapur II described as the "Shevor Malka" and was actually struck 309-379 AD. So please be careful.

 

Have you seen the duel head coins of Ardashir? Those depict Shapur on the same coin as his dad.

 

I think you are hard presses nowadays to find a Shapur for less than $100 nowadays Mat. I payed about $120 for a nice XF one, but that was 9 years ago when this emperor was more available.

The ONE CNG mailing I have ever received, (), had a large group of this emperor for sale. I thought about buying it but by the time I called it was sold.

About the only early Sassanid in nice vf/xf that is available anymore for $100ish is Hormizd II. He used to be rare but they found a hoard. I would HIGHLY recommend buying it at long beach if you find one Mat. Trust me, they will be gone from the market in a year or two.

 

No, but now I want one!!!! How much?!!

 

They are much scarcer than normal Ardashir issues. I have seen them in the past for like $300, but in today's market I have no idea. The harder part is finding one for sale.

Do you have Gobl? If not, the next best thing is:

http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/coins.html

 

I don't have a Gobl, but I just bought one today. I got it for $25 off Amazon used.

I am also looking at The Early Coinage of Central Asia by Michael Mitchiner, do you like this text as well. I can't seem to find a review on it.

 

Don't waste your time on the Michiner title. I own every book he put out on Central Asian numismatics, and don't really use them.

The ONE book I would recommend, (even though its not a "coin" book), is "From Persepolis to the Punjab". It has the most current research and dating for all Persian/Central Asian groups, dynasties, etc. While I am mad they didn't include Sogdia, every other group is covered. Its indispensible. Unfortunately I could only find it in softcover, and mine is now pretty beat up from use.

 

Good thing I asked, I removed it from my cart and did not pull the trigger on it, but Gobl is in transit. YAY!!

 

Ive seen alot of Hormizd II lately. Maybe should get one when I see it. I take pictures of the coins with me on my phone so I can compare since it seems alot of these are mislabeled, as ancientnoob pointed out.

 

Btw, a shout out to Arditirion, (Bill). He is the one that turned me on to that title. I never would have found it otherwise. He is the one that will know the latest titles on most areas like this, but my library is fairly complete for the standard references for Central Asia, (Gobl Sassanid, Gobl Hunnic, Sellwood, Shore, Boperichi, etc), so feel free to ask me any questions about references in this area as well.

I find Tom site online a GREAT help. He is the one who got me interested in Hunnic coins actually. I have been promising him to photograph my coins for his site, since some areas are in need of more images, but I suck at photography.

 

Well Shapur I and II are completely different coins really. If you get used to Sassanid you would never mistake them. I break down Sassanid coins into three eras, early, middle, and late. Early was Ardashir to about Hormizd II. High art, nice relief, etc. After Hormizd II to about Peroz is what I call middle period. At time decent art, decent strikes, but inferior to early issued. After Peroz the late sassanid is usually crude, and frequently poorly struck. Review Tom's site and see what I mean. Since Shapur II is middle sassanid, they really aren't as beautiful as Shapur I.

 

I agree that a Shapur under $100 would probably be under what I'd want from a condition standpoint. I also agree with buying a Hormizd II. Thirdly, I agree with the three periods and suggest a 'test' to place them. Early coins show two human attendants on the reverse flanking the fire altar. Middle coins replace the humans with cartoon characters. Late period coins may require faith to recognize that the attendants were intended to be human.

My favorite Sasanian coin is Varhran II ( AKA Bahram - 276–293 AD) who brought his family to the sitting. Unfortunately he failed to capture Carus for taxidermy so rather few know his name.

 

Let me know if you ever want to trade that Vahran. I have been looking for one, but they want moon money for them nowadays.

 

Hi A-Noob ... hey, here is my contribution to your "Sassanian-thread" (yah sorry, I realize I'm probably a few centuries off, but it's the best that I could do) ... plus, I know that you like this coin, so I love throwin' it out there every now and then!!



=> "Khusro II, Sassanian occupation of Egypt"

 

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/quiz.html

Question 2-1 in my 'quiz' that no one liked was Sasanian related but not menioned here so far (unless I missed it). The problem with my quiz is I lost the answer key so if anyone were to take it, I'd have to do it again to grade it.

 

medoraman => thank you for the excellent link on page 1 of this thread!! (gorgeous examples) ....... and hey, I found a similar example to my coin on page 7 of the Khusro II page (very cool)

:bow:

 

dougsmit => ummmm, do you happen to have a remedial exam?

 

True cross man.

Answer would be Helena or Constantine finding it, khusrau ll stole it, and i believe heraclius got it back.