Parthicus

Indo-Sasanian. Early period (c. 6th century CE). AR drachm (3.85 g). Obverse: Somewhat degraded Sassanian-style bust, similar to Peroz. Reverse: Degraded fire altar with two attendants. Mitchiner -. This coin: Marc R. Breitsprecher, 2024. Coins of the Sasanian Persian empire circulated widely beyond their borders, and were extensively imitated and copied, even centuries after the last Sasanian emperor was dead. In the last few years I've started collecting avidly in the Arab-Sasanian series of coins which were issued by the expanding Islamic state during the Rashidun and early Umayyad Caliphates. Sasanian coins were also copied by the various Hunnic and Turkic tribes in Central Asia, and by a number of groups in India. When I first saw this coin listed for sale, I thought it was most likely a Hunnic/Hephthalite issue based on style. However, the seller (Marc R. Breitsprecher) had it listed as Indo-Sasanian, and an old sales ticket from Stephen Album that accompanied the coin also attributes it to an uncertain Indo-Sasanian group. Although I have not found an exact match either in reference books or online searches, there are some very similar early Indo-Sasanians, so I think the attribution is likely. The Indo-Sasanian series continued for several centuries, eventually leading to coins where you'd struggle to discern any trace of a portrait. Although not much can be said historically without a more precise attribution, I still like the look of this coin, and it was reasonably priced, so I am happy to add it to my collection. Please post your Indo-Sasanian coins.

Well, I do have a drachm of Shapur I that does seem to be struck in billon rather than the good silver normal for the Sasanian series. It is, however, of the standard Sasanian format of large diameter and thin, rather than the smaller-but-thicker Roman standard. I've never seen a piece that showed evidence of a Valerian (or other Roman) under type. If the story is true, either Shapur's coins were struck on captured unused Roman blanks, or else Roman coins were melted down produce new Sasanian blanks for striking. Anyway, here's my piece:

HJB showed these at the Whitman show in Baltimore in November, and they were kind enough to let me photograph them during a slow period at their table:

Arab-Sasanian (Umayyad Caliphate). Darabgard mint. AR drachm. Ziyad ibn Abi Sufjan (665-674 CE/45-55 AH), dated 43 AH (frozen date). Obverse: Sassanian-Style bust copying Khusro II, name before; in margin "Bism Allah" ("in the name of God"). Reverse: Copy of Sasanian reverse with fire-altar and two attendants, to right mintmark DA, to left date 43. Album 8. This coin: Pars Coins Auction 44, lot 253 (December 18, 2023). Ziyad ibn Abi Sufjan was born in a small town near Mecca in 622 CE (1 AH). He was born illegitimate, to an unknown father (indeed, his name "Ziyad ibn Abi" means "Ziyad, son of his father"). Despite this disadvantage, his talents were recognized early, and shortly after arriving in the newly founded city of Basra in southern Iraq, began working as a scribe for the city's governor. He continued at Basra, gaining responsibility, until he was appointed by the Caliph Ali as governor of Fars Province in Persia in 658. When Ali was assassinated in 661 by Mu'awiya (founder of the Umayyad Caliphate), Ziyad officially maintained his loyalty to Ali for over a year before finally acknowledging Mu'awiya's rule. (Despite this, Ziyad would go on to distinguish himself in his zeal for fighting against the adherents of Ali, and was even accused of cruelty against them.) Mu'awiya would grant Ziyad the governorship of an expanded province of Basra, which would include the entire eastern half of the Caliphate. Ziyad proved a very able administrator and soldier, and helped establish firmer central control over the eastern regions of the Caliphate. He was noted for the quality of his speeches, which managed to be both eloquent and direct. His administration of justice is generally considered fair (though partisans of Ali would disagree). Ziyad died in 673. Five of his sons would go on to hold governorships. Overall, he is considered one of the most important of the early governors of the Umayyad Caliphate. His coins are fairly common within the Arab-Sasanian series, this is the first example in my collection. Please post whatever related coins you have.

I am fortunate to have a lifetime portrait denarius, struck January-February 44 BCE, so it doesn't have the DICT PERPET legend, but it's still a lifetime (and late lifetime at that) Julius Caesar portrait coin, so still pretty darn cool in my book.

Thank you @JeandAcre , that is an impressive list from a fellow "historical eclecticist", if I may coin a term. I think #1 is probably my favorite, though I am somewhat primed because I recently saw a traveling exhibit of Ethiopian art (including some Axumite) at the Walters Art Museum here in Baltimore. Other faves are #10 (I've previously written about the mix of cultures in Norman Sicily, in the context of a bronze of William II), #8 (Pharaonic Egyptian stuff on coins is always cool), and #7 (interesting artistically, as a historical artifact from a culture on the fringes of the Classical world, and also because I happen to own a specimen:)

Thanks @Finn235 for the info (and helpful photos), looks like you are correct. Definitely an interesting piece, still pretty recognizably Sasanian design but unmistakably not an official Sasanian mint product either.

I just ordered these two coins (photos borrowed from seller because they haven't arrived yet): The top coin is a Parthian bronze, and a rather scarce and interesting type that I'll explain in detail once it arrives. If I had 50,000 of them, it would immediately become by far the most abundant Parthian bronze coin type. The bottom is imitative of a Sasanian drachm of Peroz, but I'm not familiar with this specific imitation, and it will be fun to research. Not sure what having 50K of them would do, maybe I could make some money by slowly releasing the hoard onto the market...

A great group of coins, this shows very nicely how specialization in one area can really illuminate a portion of history.

A great group of coins. My favorites are #1 and #9, but I also quite like the facing owl on #6.

Nice coins, the Faustina II sestertius is my favorite but I'd be happy to receive any of them.

In my Italian-American family we've (somewhat) maintained the tradition of Sette Pesci (Seven Fishes), that is, eating seven different kinds of seafood on the night of December 24. However, we usually don't make it up to seven (that's an awful lot of work) so it still counts (for us, anyway) as long as it's an odd number (3 or 5 different seafoods). Usually this will mean appetizers of shrimp and crab balls, and a main course of spaghetti alla vongole (spaghetti with clams) to get 3 fishes, but sometimes we make a seafood stew to bring it up to 5. After that, we eat a dessert of Christmas cookies and drink egg nog. Christmas morning is for opening presents while eating Christmas bread (a special loaf that contains raisins and bits of dried fruit, with a bit of icing on top), and then a Christmas feast in the afternoon which varies from year to year. (Unlike New Year's Day, which has to include ham or pork as well as lentils, to bring luck and wealth in the new year.)

The Nero sestertius is certainly impressive, but my favorite (out of the 5 posted so far) has to be the Nero and Drusus Caesars dupondius- the dynamic dual portrait on horseback really stands out as something special.

I'm sure I'll end up purchasing some interesting coins in 2024, that always takes care of itself. The one solid numismatic goal that I will set for the new year is to finish cataloguing all of my collection, including the long-dormant Chinese cash section, into Excel spreadsheet format.

Unsurprisingly my favorites are 5, 6, and 7. Number 5 is especially notable to me, as I was not aware of this particular Kushan-imitative type (which makes sense as it was only recently discovered). Also #2- I find it interesting when medieval Christian kings struck Arabic- and Arabic-imitative-language coins.

This year started off slowly for me, but by the end I managed to purchase some very nice coins. No "bucket list" pieces, but I ended up with some very historical and attractive coins. As usual, the order of the list is mostly random, except that the top slot is indeed my favorite of the year. 1. Sasanian Kingdom, Khusro III (631-2). AR drachm. One of the many short-lived claimants to teh Sasanian throne after the murder of Khusro II in 628, he controlled only the Khorasan region for a few months, and his coins are rare. Notice the beardless portrait- he was quite young (the scanty historical records don't say exactly how old). A rare coin from a turbulent period of history. 2. Crusaders in Antioch. Tancred (1104-1112), AE follis. (Photo borrowed from seller as it just arrived and I haven't photographed it yet.) On this specimen, you can clearly see that Tancred is wearing a turban. An attempt to ingratiate himself to the local population? Definitely an interesting piece. 3. Turco-Hephthalites. Vasu Deva (c.600-719), AR drachm. Not much historical information available, but I like the design (an interpretation of the Sasanian drachm) and the trilingual inscription. Plus, the tiny gold plug in the neck- this is apparently how the coins were made, perhaps as a guarantee of value? 4. Ghaznavids. mahmud (998-1030), dated 1028. AR dirham. Notable for the bilingual Arabic-Sanskrit inscription, the Sanskrit includes some key Islamic phrases and can be seen as an attempt to explain the Muslim religion to his newly-conquered Hindu subjects. 5. "Armenian-Sasanian". c.7th century CE? AR drachm. A Sasanian-imitative, probably struck in Armenia after the collapse of the Sasanian kingdom. Another coin where I mainly liked the design, and the history came second. 6. Ilkhans. Abu Sa'id (1316-1335). AR 6 dirhams. The Ilkhans (Mongols in Persia) tried out a number of innovative designs on their coins. On this one, I especially like the reverse use of Kufic Arabic script in a "square" format. 7. Roman Empire. Septimius Severus (193-211). AE sestertius. Yes, I do actually collect "classical" Greek and Roman coins sometimes. The reverse of the Emperor on horseback ties in nicely to the history of his military campaigns (including against Parthians), and on the obverse you can see he is wearing scale armor (lorica squamata). 8. Kushans. Wima Kadphises (c.113-127). AE drachm. While tetradrachms of this king and type are fairly common, the drachms are scarce, so I was happy to find this in a pick bin. The smooth, black patina is also very attractive in person, though I had trouble photographing it. 9. Parthians. Arsakes II (c.211-185 BCE). AE 16. Just a nice quality early Parthian bronze. The kind you see every day (not). 10. Arab-Sasanian. Salm ibn Ziyad (680-684). AR drachm. A scarce Arab-Sasanian drachm, from a governor whose loyalties proved flexible during a civil war. So, there's my Top 10 for 2023. Which were your favorites? Are there any that make you scratch your head at how anyone could like such a coin? Please comment below.

Sir Pterry would approve. (IYKYK.) A very nice group of coins @kirispupis. Naturally my favorites are the Kamnaskires III/Anzaze and the Hyspaosines, both of them being Parthian vassals. I also like the Nikomedes for its excellent Hellenistic portrait and overall style.

Arab-Sasanian. AR drachm (33 mm, 3.43 g). Herat mint. Governor Salm ibn Ziyad (c. 61-65 AH/680-684 CE), dated 67 AH. Obverse: Bust copied from Sasanian issues of Khusro II, name before, in margin "bism Allah" (in the name of God) and 3 pellets. Reverse: Copy of Khusro II reverse, to right mintmark HRA (Herat), to left date 67, star in margin at 11:30. Album 18. This coin: Stephen Album Internet-only Auction 23, lot 51 (October 30-31, 2023). While the date of Salm's birth is uncertain, we know he was one of the sons of Ziyad ibn Abihi, the Umayyad governor of Iraq who controlled most of the eastern portion of the Caliphate. When Ziyad died in 673, Caliph Mu'awiya divided Ziyad's former territories among three of Ziyad's other sons, Ubayd Allah (Iraq), Abd al-Rahman (Khurasan), and Abbad (Sijistan). Mu'awiya died in 680 and was succeeded by his son Yazid I, the first hereditary succession of the caliphate, which was, to say the least, controversial. In 681 Yazid sent Salm to replace his brothers as governor of Kurasan and Sijistan. Salm in turn, appointed another brother (confusingly also named Yazid) as deputy governor in Sijistan, while maintaining control of Khurasan for himself. Salm won some military victories at the edges of his territory, and instead of sending all the captured booty back to the caliph in Damascus, distributed the greater portion of it to his troops, which naturally greatly increased his popularity. The death of Caliph Yazid I in late 683 created a power struggle, and Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, based in Mecca, emerged as a powerful challenger to the Umayyads. Salm initially tried to keep his troops loyal to the Umayyads, but they declared for the Zubayrid side, and Salm fled to his brother Ubayd Allah in Basra. Salm then changed his mind and attempted to join the Zubayrid cause, but the Zubayrids took him into custody and held him prisoner at Mecca until he paid a hefty ransom. He then lived in Mecca until the Umayyads besieged the city. Salm received a pardon from the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik, who restored his title as Governor of Khurasan, but Salm died in 692 in Basra before he could travel to take up his office. Coins of Salm ibn Ziyad are rated as "Scarce" in Album's catalogue. The mint is Herat, a major city in Khurasan and which is still a city of nearly 600,000 population in Afghanistan. This coin bears the date 67 AH, even though Salm had fled in 65 AH; Album notes that coins with dates up to 70 are known for Salm. There was a Zubayrid-appointed governor of Khurasan, Abd Allah ibn Khazim, who issued coins during this period, so it's rather mysterious why coins continued to be struck in the name of the former governor. Regardless, it's a nice addition to my Arab-Sasanian collection, and an interesting relic of a soldier and politician whose loyalties proved flexible. Please post whatever related coins you have.

Thank you @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix for choosing to interview me, and thanks everyone who liked this interview. And if I've inspired some of you to delve more deeply into some "Non-Classical" coinages, then I've succeeded in my not-so-secret mission. @kirispupis @Qcumbor : Thanks for sharing your bird photography. While I mainly focus on spotting and identifying birds, I have attempted to photograph some, and managed a few decent photos. Here's two I especially like, a Common Gallinule I photographed here in Baltimore this spring, and a Lilac-breasted Roller from my 2013 safari vacation in Tanzania: @Al Kowsky : Why did I decide to specialize in Parthian coins? I'd say the biggest reason was a fortuitous purchase of Fred Shore's book. It included enough history of the Parthians, and variety in photographed specimens, to whet my interest. The Parthians seemed poised partway between nomadism and settled civilization, and between East and West. The imagery on the coins was interesting- the distinctive portraits, the archer, Greek legends that gradually fade into gibberish. At the time I was thinking of focusing on either Kushan or Hephthalite coins, and while those certainly feature interesting designs, the amount of firmly established history is much less for those groups than for the Parthians.

Kushan Kingdom. Taxila mint. AE drachm. Wima Kadphises (c. 113-127). Obverse: King standing, right hand sacrificing over small altar, to left club and tamgha, Greek legend around. Reverse: God Shiva with two arms, holding trident and standing in front of bull Nandi, Kharoshthi legend around. MACW 3050-3054. This coin: Purchased from Tamco Numismatics at the Baltimore Whitman Coin Expo, November 9, 2023. (part of historical section is reused) The Kushans were originally one of five semi-nomadic tribes that constituted the Yuezhi confederation, which lived along the northwestern border of China. During the second century BCE the Yuezhi were forced to migrate west, into Bactria and nearby territories. Eventually, the Kushans conquered the other four tribes to assume leadership. The first true Kushan King is considered Kujula Kadphises (c. 50-90); we know the names of a few earlier Kushan rulers as part of the Yuezhi, but very little of this early history is known except in broad outline. The Kushans would quickly become a wealthy and important kingdom, controlling major trade routes between China, India, and Persia/Rome. They issued an abundant coinage in both gold and in bronze, though after a few scarce issues of the Yuezhi and (according to Joe Cribb) Kujula Kadphises they seem to have not issued silver coins. These coins depict an extensive and very mixed pantheon, including Indian, Iranian, Greek, and Central Asian deities, and even some scarce types depicting both the Shakyamuni Buddha (the historical Buddha) and the Maitreya Buddha (the future Buddha). The Kushan Kingdom broke apart in the 3rd century CE, with multiple independent local Kushan rulers and some territories acquired by the new Sasanian Empire of Persia. The remaining Kushan territories were lost to the Kidarite and Hephthalite Huns in the 5th century CE. Wima (also spelled Vima) Kadphises was the son of Wima Takhto and father of the great Kanishka I, and ruled c. 113-127. He was the first Kushan king to issue gold coinage, and he expanded Kushan territory in Afghanistan and northern India. His bronze coinage is rather monotonous, as almost all bear the same design as this coin (a rare type has the goddess Nanaia on reverse instead of Shiva). However, the denomination of this piece is less common. Most of his bronzes are of the size modern numismatists usually call a tetradrachm (~16 g weight), but this is the scarcer drachm (~4 g). I picked this coin out of a $20 per coin "you pick" group because I recognized its scarcity, and I also liked the smooth, dark patina and appreciated the reasonably high state of preservation for Kushan bronze. Overall, it's a rather nice little Kushan coin. Please post your related coins.

Turco-Hephthalites. AR drachm (with AV plug). Vasu Deva (c. 600-719). Design based on Sasanian prototype of Khusro II. Obverse: Bust of king right wearing winged crown, lion head atop, surrounded by Brahmi legend, cursive Greek legend along edge, small countermark at 6:30 near edge, small gold plug in coin at king's neck. Reverse: Fire-altar with two attendants, Pahlavi legend to either side, cursive Greek legend along edge. MACW 1560, Gobl 244. This coin: Purchased from Tamco Numismatics at the Whitman Baltimore Coin Expo, November 9, 2023. This coin was issued in roughly the region of what is now Afghanistan during the 7th century CE. The coin is trilingual, with legends in Brahmi (used to write various Indian languages), Pahlavi (a script used mainly for Persian), and cursive Greek (a late survivor of Hellenism in the region), reflecting the complex cultural mix of the region. The Vasu Deva in whose name this coin was issued is not well known to history, but there is another coin issue of Vasu Deva which names Mardanshah, a viceroy of the Sasanian king Khusro II (590-628) who was executed in 624, which helps to establish the dating. This type is often found with a small gold plug inserted into the area of the neck on the obverse, another interesting feature of the coin. I don't have a lot to say about the history behind this coin, but I really like the design, both the interpretation of the portrait style and the well-preserved trilingual inscriptions. Please post whatever related coins you may have.

Here, as usual, is my brief, highly personal and biased, recap of my day at the Whitman Baltimore Coin Expo. This year I attended on the first day of the show, Thursday November 9. However, my day did not start out well. Around 10 PM the previous night, I started feeling dizziness and... let's just call it nausea (three times). I only managed a little sleep, and while the nausea abated the dizziness didn't seem to be getting any better. I had given up all thoughts of going to the show (I couldn't walk even a few feet without holding onto a support) and was starting to plan how to get to a medical office. Around 7 AM, I drank a glass of water, and almost immediately started to feel better. I drank another glass, rested in bed a bit more, and by 10 AM was completely better. It turns out I was just dehydrated, and the treatment is the obvious one. Dehydration is no joke, people, stay hydrated out there. I made it to teh show at 1 PM (doors opened to the public at noon). The show seemed overall busy, many tables had multiple visitors at a time. There were also some booths where the dealers had not yet set up, which I don't usually see on the second or third days of a show. I had a good talk with Michael Bezayiff, a dealer whom I hadn't met before but who proved very knowledgeable, even about some obscure Eastern series. Allen Berman was very engaging as always, though I had a scare at his table. I was examining a coin that was in an older, damaged plastic flip, and the flip had cracked at the bottom. Well, the coin fell out of the flip and onto the hard Convention Center floor with a loud "plink". Fortunately the coin was undamaged and Allen wasn't too upset, though he did suggest that I should always hold coins above the table. (I did end up buying the coin, see below.) I said that I almost had a heart attack, to which he replied "Please don't have a heart attack at my table, it would give me a bad reputation." 😄 One other interaction of note was at Harlan J. Berk's table, where they had two specimens of Colosseum sestertius on display, with a list price of $375,000 for the pair. (I am sure @David Atherton could tell us more about them.) They said I could photograph the coins, and even took them out of the cabinet so I could get better pics. (Though, remembering what happened at Allen Berman's table, I did not ask to hold the coins. ) Here are the beauties: I did notice that the hoard of tetradrachms of Tigranes II of Armenia is still being dispersed, but the prices are still too high for me to justify buying one. As usual, I spent most of my time (and money) with the ancients dealers, and towards the end wandered about in the world and US sections making a few small purchases. I left about 4:30 PM, taking just one short break around 3 for a quick snack and rehydration. Overall it was a good day, I spent most of my allotted budget and got some nice coins. And now, here is my haul for the day. First, my coins from Allen Berman. Top: A Parthian tetradrachm of Vologases IV (this is the coin I dropped on the floor) and small Parthian bronze of Phraates IV, and Sasanian drachms of Hormazd II and Kavad I (though Hormazd has a major head wound, he was cheerfully cheap). Bottom row is 4 "Kushan" coins Allen sold as a lot for $20- I am confident the three coppery-colored coins are in fact from Yaudheya, the darker is either late Kushan or one of the many Kushan-imitatives and requires further research: Some more ancients: Top row starts with two coins from Tamco Numismatics (bought as usual from minimally-ID'd "you pick" groups), trilingual drachm in the name of the Turco-Hephthalite king Vasu Deva, and an AE drachm of the Kushan king Wima Kadphises (I already had the far more common tetradrachm of his). Next is a silver hemidrachm of the Abbasid governors of Tabaristan, anonymous type, nicely rainbow-tomes, bought from Michael Bezayiff. Bottom row is four coins bought from a $10 junk box of Tiber Numismatics: AE in the style of Alexander the Great (either lifetime or shortly afterwards), Byzantine 20 nummi probably pre-reform of Justinian the Great, Roman provincial from Zeugma of some emperor who I'll have to figure out, and a Crusader coin of the famous Tancred. Finally, some modern coins. Top row is 4 Canadian large cents that are part of the Super Secret Side Project. Bottom row cost a total of $20: $6 each for the Barber quarters, and $1 each for the worn George V penny and the Hungarian 2 forint. I like the use of just the crown, and not the monarch's portrait, on the Hungarian coin as a tacit acknowledgement that it is only the symbols of monarchy that matter, not the actual person wielding them. So, I had a good day at the show. I ended up with just $2 of my allotted budget unspent and got some nice coins, including many that will require lots of fun attribution. (Don't worry @Furryfrog02, I left plenty of junk box goodies for you and the tadpoles.) Hope you enjoyed my recap, please let me know your experiences at the show.

Thanks for the show report, sounds like you had a great time. Those $10 and $20 pick-bin coins look pretty good for the price. I plan to be at the Baltimore Whitman show next week, and as usual will post a report afterwards.