Too cheap to pass up: Budget Sassanian Drachm of Khusro II

Sassanian Kingdom, Khusro II 590-628
AR Drachm 3.77g
Obv: Head of Khusro II right wearing an ornate winged crown
Rev: Two fire attendants facing, a fire altar between. Mint name to right, date to left. . BBA mint, Year 30

I was not in the market for another Sassanian, but I came across this puppy at an auction and seeing the opening bid and that no one else was interested in it, I bid and won it without opposition.

$24.16 including shipping. To compare it to others like it, on vcoins.com with similar amount of flatness of the portrait and similar wear they are selling for $60-$75 (not including shipping). It may have some wear, and the crown on the imperial portrait may show a little flatness, but it is otherwise a decent coin and a fair representative of Sassanian coinage. All the important details are there, not to mention I only paid around 33.3% of it's full retail price online?

Oh, and about the king, Khusro II, he wasted a ton of resources fighting with the Byzantine Empire (which is why both Empires ended up so weak and ripe for conquest by the Muslims) and he got deposed by his son, and ended up being executed by his son with a bunch of arrows. Not the most loving family if you ask me.

 

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Nice buy and in terms of condition, as good or better as most I've seen over the years. An interesting series but one I've never really pursued. My one and only Sassanian is also a Khusro II that I bought literally decades ago. I don't think I paid that much less for mine so congrats again. And, thanks for sharing.

 

Glad you liked it. My first Sassanian is really a dish


Kavadh I

As far as Sassanian go, that's about as good as it gets.

 

Mine had cost the same. Nice addition.


Khusro II (591-628 A.D.)
AR Drachm
O: Bust of King right, crowned and cuirassed, ribbon over right shoulder, crescent and ribbon over left, stars flanking crown, monogram to left.
R: Two attendants and fire alter, star and crescent flanking flame.
4.1g
32mm
LYW for Rev-Ardashir, Year 33

 

prices always vary...below is a budget example with a little ding on the reverse that I sold last month on eBay for $8.50, shipping included.

 

This is one I may rephotograph when I get it. I have a feeling it will be much better in hand. All the auction pics were with a cheap digital camera on a blue surface. You could see shadows on the edges and everything. Not very professional. I can't believe Agora decided to host an auction for these people (Aegean Numismatics), but they did.

It kind of has the vibe of a 2010 digital camera and the coin being photographed outside in the open while sitting on top of a composition book. I'm willing to bet it will look even nicer when I get it.

 

Andrew is one of the better VC dealers I deal with. I buy & trade with him very often.

 

Looks kind of like Sloth from the Goonies...

 

i'd have to snag that up for that price as well!

here's mine from this fellow, i think i paid 30 bucks for it at one of the first coin shows i went to several years ago...

 

Here's a Khusro II from the mint ShY (probably Shiraz):

And an obol (Sasanian fractional silver is a lot scarcer than the drachms) of the first Sasanian king, Ardashir I. This is from early in his reign, when he depicted himself wearing a Parthian-style tiara as the distinctive Sasanian crown was not yet in use:

 

Can you honestly say that the photo doesn't accurately convey the important visual information about the coin though? IMHO that's the most important thing and while pictures with solid backgrounds and no shadows look better, calling a dealer unprofessional for these photos is unwarranted.

 

Nice grab! Another coin type on my extended wishlist.

 

OK, what I should have said was that the photos are not typical of the professional photos you see at most auctions. These were basically snap and go shots without any fancy equipment or editing... maybe he was in a hurry?

I didn't mean to suggest that the dealer himself is not reputable. If I had any doubts as to that, I wouldn't have bought the coin at any price.

 

Great coins!!

Ummm well, if you dudes are gonna drag Khusro-II back into the mix, then I'm gonna toss-in my sweet example (again)



... pretty cool 1400 year old coins, fellas (we rock)

 

If you are referring to what looks like little dots, that is part of the beard.

 

Some of these coins, depending on style/strike/ skill of particular celators can have the beard look like teeth, which is quite comical. See this one from Tabaristan. The beard style makes Umar B. also Ala look like some man eating zombie with an evil grin.