Parthicus

Samanids. Bukhara mint. AE fals (26 mm, 4.06 g). Nasr II b. Ahmad (914-943 CE), dated 305 AH (917 CE). Album 1452. This coin: Purchased from Ken Dorney, October 2023. The Samanids were a dynasty, originally of Persian origin, who ruled a large territory in eastern Persia, Afghanistan, and Central Asia from 817 to 999 CE. While they were effectively independent, they officially claimed allegiance to the Caliphate in Baghdad and continued to send annual tribute. They were major proponents of Persian literature and culture, and their capital city of Bukhara (in what is now Uzbekistan) was perhaps the second greatest in the Muslim world at the time, behind only Baghdad. Nasr II was the son of the ruler Ahmad Samani, and took over the throne when his father was murdered in 914. As Nasr was just eight years old at the time, he was initially merely a figurehead for his prime minister, who fortunately was both highly competent and loyal. His early years saw a number of rebellions that were quickly crushed, and later in his reign Nasr would add additional territory at the expense of smaller neighboring states. In 943, a conspiracy of army officers was formed against Nasr due to his support of Isma'ili ("Sevener") Shia missionaries. Nasr's son, Nuh, learned of the conspiracy and executed its leader; however, he then persuaded his father to abdicate the throne in favor of Nuh. Nasr died of tuberculosis a few months after abdicating, which sounds suspicious to me, but that's what the history books say, so who am I to argue? At the end of the 10th century, the Samanids were defeated and their territory divided between the Ilak Khans and the Ghaznavids. Samanid coinage is best known for their large (40-45 mm diameter) silver multiple dirhams. These were presumably struck to use the output of the many silver mines found in Samanid territory. However, their bronze coinage is also abundant, and is usually well-struck and centered, making for attractive coins. This coin was on sale for just $24, which I'd say is a very good deal for a thousand-year-old bronze showing this much attractive detail, and which is linked to an interesting history. Please share your Samanid coins.

Sasanian Kingdom. Lead unit (3.02 g, 14 mm). Shahpur II (309- 379). Obverse: Bust right, symbol before of double arrowhead(?). Reverse: Fire-altar with two attendants, bust of Ahura Mazda in flames. This coin: Pars Coins Bargain Auction 11, lot 57 (October 13, 2023). (note: historical section contains reused text) Shahpur II's 70-year reign is the longest in Sasanian history, but the official dates include his entire childhood prior to his taking the throne from his regents at age 16. Indeed, one charming story has it that Shahpur II was declared king prior to his birth, with a miniature crown placed on his pregnant mother's belly. This seems unlikely, as at that time there was no way to know for sure that the unborn baby was male, but the story was too interesting for me to ignore. Regardless, Shahpur would prove an able king, especially on the military front, and his reign is considered a high point of Sasanian history. During his childhood, Arab raiders attacked along the Persian Gulf coast, plundering and destroying a number of towns in southern Persia. At age 16 Shahpur led a punitive expedition deep into the Arabian Peninsula, and defeated many of the Arab tribes, killing many warriors and taking others as slaves. One bit of cruelty stands out: He had his prisoners' shoulders pierced, so that a rope or leather thong could be inserted to make it easier for their captors to drag them along. For this he was called "Dhu al-Aktaf", "The Shoulder-Piercer." In the West, Shahpur fought several times against the Eastern Romans, including Constantius II and Julian; he killed Julian in 363 and forced his successor Jovian to renounce Roman claims to lands east of the Tigris. In the East, Shahpur conquered almost all the remaining territory of the Kushan Empire (most of modern Afghanistan and Pakistan). Overall, Shahpur's reign saw a great expansion of Sasanian territory and was a high point of their military strength. This coin is part of the poorly-understood Sasanian lead coinage. The great majority of Sasanian coinage is silver (mainly drachms, with rarer fractions and with tetradrachms struck only for the first three kings, probably as a holdover from the Parthians). Bronze coinage was struck pretty consistently but in small numbers, and gold coinage was issued in small numbers and irregular intervals. Lead coinage also occurs, and its relation to the other metals and role in the economy is unclear. I've heard it suggested that lead coins were struck for use by troops stationed at the borders, so that if the coins fell into enemy hands they wouldn't be useful, as would silver or gold (and, to a limited extent, bronze). This sounds logical, but I don't know of actual evidence for this such as ancient texts mentioning it. Regardless, it's a decent example of this scarce and mysterious coinage, and I was happy to win it. Please post your coins of Shahpur II, lead coins, or whatever else is related.

Sasanian Kingdom. AE pashiz (12 mm, 0.35 g). Kavad I, second reign (499- 531). Obverse: Bust of king right, star behind and crescent before, ribbons before and in front. Reverse: Fire-altar with two attendants, star and crescent at top, to right unclear mintmark (possibly AT, Azerbaijan), to left unclear date. This coin: Pars Coins Bargain Auction 11, lot 76 (October 13, 2023). (note: historical section contains reused text) Kavad was born in 473, the son of Peroz I (459-484). After Peroz' death, his brother Valkash was appointed by the nobles to rule, but proved unpopular and was deposed after just four years. Kavad ascended the throne in 488, but as he was just 15 he was largely a figurehead for his advisors, particularly a Parthian-descended noble named Sukhra. In 493, by now more confident and worried about Sukhra's dominance, Kavad had Sukhra exiled to his native Shiraz. However, Sukhra still proved troublesome, and Kavad had him imprisoned and then executed. This, understandably, damaged his relations with the nobility. Around this time, Kavad also fell in with a heretical Zoroastrian faction known as the Mazdakites. The Mazdakites preached a socialist-sounding program of redistribution of wealth, as well as the more lurid idea they are most remembered for, wife-swapping. Some modern historians argue that the wife-swapping part was heavily embellished by the enemies of the Mazdakites to make them look bad; Touraj Daryaee argues that they merely loosened marriage rules to help the lower classes, which the wealthier nobles saw as a threat to their marriage-based alliances and traditional lineages. Regardless of how true the "wife-swapping" was, the wealth-redistribution part was more than enough to alarm the nobles. In 497 they overthrew Kavad, imprisoning him in the awesomely-named Tower of Oblivion and installing his brother Zamasp as king. Zamasp was apparently a moderate and humane king; he returned the state religion to more orthodox Zoroastrianism, and while he stopped the confiscation and redistribution of wealth, he did lower the taxes on the poorer classes. Meanwhile, Kavad managed to escape from captivity and make his way east. In 499 he returned at the head of a large force of Hephthalites. Zamasp decided not to fight his brother and relinquished the throne to him, heading into exile in Armenia. Having regained the throne, Kavad continued a reform program, but one more moderate than previously. He instituted a poll tax and reviewed the assignments of tax dues to improve fairness, strengthened small landowners, and introduced a new priestly office called "advocate and judge of the poor" to oversee charity programs. He also reformed the army, reducing the influence of noble-controlled cavalry and enlisting troops from Hephthalite and Arab allies. By the 520s, he had turned away from the Mazdakites, and had many of them executed, possibly including their leader Mazdak. (There is some debate over whether Mazdak was actually a real person, or just a name used for the movement.) Kavad proved a strong military leader, successfully leading Sasanian armies against the Byzantine emperor Anastasius I from 502-505. Around 520, Kavad tried to simultaneously strengthen the position of his son (and eventual successor) Khusro, and also improve relations with the Byzantines, by having him adopted by the Byzantine emperor Justin I. Negotiations broke down, however, reportedly over fears that Khusro might try to usurp the Byzantine throne. This was later used as a pretext, in 528, for renewal of warfare between the two empires. In 531, Kavad died of natural causes, and his son and successor, now Khusro I, made peace once again with the Byzantines under Justinian I. This is a rather well-preserved small bronze coin, if it were larger I expect it would have received much stronger bids in the auction ( I won it at a practically-larcenous $16). I have called it a pashiz, but pashiz seems to be a pretty general term for any small Persian bronze coin, not necessarily a specific denomination. Please post your coins of Kavad I, or any related coins.

Congrats @CPK on your new coin, that is a nice, well-worn but still attractive portrait issue of JC. I acquired my own Julius Caesar lifetime portrait denarius a couple of years ago; it lacks the DICT PERPETVO inscription, but was issued in January or early February 44 BCE, shortly before his proclamation as Perpetual Dictator:

Yes, I especially like Khusro II drachms because they are often well-struck and well-preserved, there are a ton of different mints and dates, and they are still relatively inexpensive for an impressively large ancient silver coin. @lordmarcovan: Your coin is Year 25, mintmark LD= Rayy. Rayy was known in Parthian times as Rhagae; the city still exists, but has become absorbed as a suburb of the ever-expanding Iranian capital of Tehran. There's a couple of areas of weakness I could quibble about (the right wing of the crown, and the flowing hair behind Khusro's head), but I think the grade of 5 for strike is justified. @Al Kowsky: Mintmark is MY (Meshan in southern Iraq). Not sure of the date- it's one of those spots where the weakness of Pahlavi script (too many similar letters) really becomes apparent. I have a number of coins of Khusro II (his are the most common Sasanian coins), so I won't show them all, but here's a drachm from Rayy, Year 30:

I've shared these before, but it's the appropriate season again: On this Sasanian drachm of Khusro II (590-628) the combination of wear patterns and partial toning combine to give Khusro a corpse-like, zombie-ish appearance. And this AE stater of Kashmir has an obverse featuring Toramana II and his HIDEOUS CLAW HAND:

I won these two coins as part of a group lot in a recent Stephen Album auction: Coin 1: Ilkhans, Amul mint. AR dirham. Type A (Arabic inscriptions in square/Arabic inscriptions in pentafoil). Uljaytu (1304-1316 CE/703-716 AH), dated 704 AH. Album 2180. This coin: Stephen Album Auction 45, lot 3057 (part), 2023. Coin 2: Ilkhans, Jurjan mint. AR 6 dirhams. Type H (bilingual- name of ruler in Uighur script). Abu Sa'id (1316-1335 CE/716-736 AH). Album 2217. This coin: Stephen Album Auction 45, lot 3057 (part), 2023. The Ilkhans were a Mongol dynasty based mainly in Persia and extending into its immediate neighbors. The dynasty was founded by Hulagu, a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of both Kublai Khan and Mongke Khan. Hulagu was ordered to conquer the Abbasid caliphate, which he did in 1258, then declared himself as Ilkhan (subordinate khan). His descendants would rule for another 80 years. Uljaytu was initially raised Buddhist (like most Mongols to this point), but was baptized as a Christian at the age of 9 (perhaps at the instigation of his mother, who was a Christian); he later converted to Islam, initially Sunni but later favoring the Shia variety, and would promote Islam above other religions in his territory. He defeated an uprising in the Kurdish regions led by a false Mahdi in 1307, and a Christian uprising in Irbil in 1310. He sent out several embassies and letters to rulers of France and England and the Pope, proclaiming his friendship and proposing an alliance against the Mamluks who held the Holy Land, though no solid military alliance materialized. The Byzantine emperor Andronicus II sent one of his daughters to marry Uljaytu, and in return received troops to fight the growing power of the Ottomans. Uljaytu died in 1316 and was succeeded by his son, Abu Sa'id. Early in his reign, he defeated an invasion by the Golden Horde in Azerbaijan and several simultaneous rebellions at different parts of the empire. In the 1330s, the Black Death ranged widely, and in 1335 both Abu Sa'id and his son were killed by the plague. He was succeeded by various short-lived claimants, and the Ilkhanate broke up into multiple rival states. Ilkhan coinage is quite complicated, with multiple types per ruler and over 250 different mints known. (They actually make the Sasanians look conservative in their assignment of mints.) From about 1297, there are various details of the designs (such as the geometric shapes surrounding the legends) that indicate denomination, even to illiterate users. On Coin 2 above, the reverse features the Kalima written in a spiral Kufic Arabic script, which creates an interesting design. These two coins were highlights of the group lot, and my main reason for bidding on it. Please post your Ilkhan coinage, or whatever else is related.

The Parthians conquered much of the former Seleucid territory, and at least one of the cities named by Seleucus I, Laodicea in Media, issued coins under the Parthians. (The city, renamed Nihavand, is still inhabited and is in Hamadan Province, Iran.) Here's a Laodicea drachm of Orodes II (57-38 BCE): And one from Phraates IV (38-2 BCE):

Roman Empire, Rome mint. AE sestertius (20.1 g, 27 mm). Septimius Severus (193- 211), struck 196. Obverse: Laureate and cuirassed bust of Severus right, legend around [L SEPT SEV] PERT AVG IM[P VIII]. Reverse: Emperor on horseback right, led by a soldier, legend around [ADVENTI AVG FELICISSIMO], in exergue S[C]. RIC IV 719. This coin: Purchased from Marc R. Breitsprecher, 2023. (note: Historical section below contains reused text.) Septimius Severus was born in 145 CE in Leptis Magna (in what is now Libya), of mixed Italian and Punic (and possibly Berber) ancestry. Little is known of his early career, but in 191 he was appointed governor of Upper Pannonia by Commodus. Commodus was assassinated on the last day of 192 and Pertinax proclaimed emperor, but was killed by the Praetorian Guard just three months later. The Praetorians then blatantly auctioned off the emperorship to the highest bidder, Didius Julianus. Meanwhile, on hearing of the murder of Pertinax, Severus' troops proclaimed him emperor, and he began a march to Rome. Julianus proved unable to raise the huge sums he had promised, and his support quickly fell away; he was killed after a reign of 66 days, and Septimius Severus entered Rome unopposed. Severus, realizing that the Praetorians were trouble, had Pertinax' killers executed and dismissed the rest of the Praetorians, replacing them with men from his own legions whose loyalty he could trust. Meanwhile, the legions in Syria had proclaimed Pescennius Niger as emperor, and he had received encouragement from Parthia and its allies, including Osrhoene. Severus first shored up his rear by proclaiming his commander in Britain, Clodius Albinus, as Caesar, then moved against Niger. He defeated Niger in 194, then fought in Mesopotamia against Niger's allies the Parthians, Arabs, and Adiabenians. As a result, Severus annexed most of Osrhoene as a Roman province. Albinus rebelled in 195, upset at being passed over as Severus' designated successor in favor of Severus' own son Caracalla. Albinus was killed in Gaul in 197, leaving Severus free to launch a more extensive war against Parthia. This went well for the Romans, including the sacking of the Parthian capitol Ctesiphon and temporary expansion of the Roman provincial border to the Tigris. However, he failed twice to take the key fortress town of Hatra and (like all Roman armies) made no headway into the Iranian heartland of Parthia. Content with the new territory in Mesopotamia, he moved on to other campaigns in North Africa and in Caledonia (Scotland). While campaigning in Britain he fell ill, and died at Eboracum (York) in 211 CE, leaving the empire to his two sons Caracalla and Geta. He left the Roman Empire with its greatest territorial extent ever, as well as founding the Severan Dynasty. This coin was struck in 196 and commemorates Severus' return to Rome after defeating Niger and his allies. Although it is well-worn and most of the legends are missing, I nonetheless find it an attractive piece that appealed to me as soon as I saw it. On the obverse, the emperor is wearing lorica squamata (scale armor), and you can still see the individual scales clearly. It's also an interesting historical type, as the reverse commemorates a specific event and isn't just some deity or personification. Please post your coins of Septimius Severus, or whatever else is related.

I traveled to Spain in 2005 and brought back a couple of ancient coins. I packed them together with some modern coins I'd bought (including a Spanish mint set) in my carry-on, and on the Customs form wrote down "collectible coins" and a reasonable estimate of the value of the whole group, including moderns and ancients (which wasn't much, maybe $100 or so total). Had no problem with Customs in either Spain or the US.

And how often do they think of the Parthians, or for that matter the Dabuyid Ispahbads of Tabaristan? 😜

As Mel Brooks said, "It's good to be the king prince!"

I don't usually collect Celtic coins, but this Eastern European drachm imitating Alexander's coinage was just too appealing to me:

Thanks @DLTcoinsfor the useful info and links. @hotwheelsearl: The mintmark's not quite as clear as it could be on this specimen, but this illustration may help:

Armenian-Sasanian. AR drachm (2.97 g, 31 mm). Imitation of Sasanian drachm of Hormazd IV (579-590), Year 6, struck probably in the second half of the 7th century CE. On reverse, for mintmark, "ZwZwN' in Pahlavi script. Zeno 313913 (this coin); Steve Album Auction 46, lot 43 (May 18-21, 2023). I previously wrote about another example of this coinage that I acquired in late 2019 (see https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sa...r-is-it-the-denomination.361981/#post-4578077 ). The unusual mintmark ZwZwN has been interpreted as possibly representing the denomination, the Aramaic-derived "zuz" (plural "zuzim") which is used in Jewish sources from the early centuries CE to describe the main denomination of silver coin, equivalent to a drachm or dirham. At that time, I concluded that "ZwZwN" was probably just a bonafide mintmark of Hormazd IV, possibly for the small city of Zuzan in Khorasan Province. However, after examining this new specimen and others, and further reading, I have changed my mind. I now believe that the "ZwZwN" coinage in the name of Hormazd IV was struck, probably in Armenia, well after the death of Hormazd IV with false dates, perhaps by local authorities without permission from the Sasanian kings or their Arab successors. There are some coins in the series that do closely resemble official issues of Hormazd IV, such as my previous coin, that may have been struck within the lifetime of Hormazd or shortly after his death. Later coins, such as the present example, deviate significantly from the normal official style, and a few late issues are known with additional Arabic inscriptions added to the design. (For examples, go to zeno.ru and use the search term "ZwZwN".) I therefore now consider this coin, and the previous one, as "Armenian-Sassanian" coinage. However, I do still have questions about the alleged use of ZwZwN as a denomination rather than as a mintmark. Why would local Armenian issuers (whether official or not) suddenly feel the need to put the denomination on coins? Sasanian coins had been circulating in Armenia for centuries by this point, presumably everyone would have recognized the designs and would not need to be told "this is a zuz". I don't have an alternative for what ZwZwN might have been intended to stand for, but I'm still not convinced that it's the denomination. Regardless, this is an interesting coin that raises a lot of questions, and that might benefit from further research. Please post whatever you have that's related, or explain to me why I'm wrong about this coin.

I have a Claudius diobol with hippo reverse:

Parthian Kingdom. Billon drachm (2.98 g, 18 mm). Nisa mint. Artabanos IV (c.10- 38 CE). Obverse: Bust left, crescent and star before. Reverse: Seated archer surrounded by degraded Greek legend, mintmark NI. Sellwood 63.15v. This coin: Pars Coins Bargain eSale 5, lot 52 (July 3, 2023).Artabanos IV took the Parthian throne about 10 CE, during an unsettled time for the region. Vonones I had spent much of his life in Roman territory and proved too Hellenized for the Parthian nobles- he didn't like hunting, feasting, or (the real deal-breaker) horseback-riding. The nobles induced Artabanos to give up his job as king of the Parthian dependency Media Atropatene (Azerbaijan) and fight Vonones for the throne. Artabanos was initially unsuccessful, and Vonones even recorded his own victory on the coinage (unusual for the Parthians). However, a couple of years later Artabanos returned with more troops, and Vonones was forced to flee back to the Romans, leaving Artabanos to take up the Parthian crown. During a later dispute with the Romans over Armenia, Artabanos was forced from the throne, and spent some time living with the nomadic Dahae east of the Caspian, raising an army there which formed the nucleus of his forces when he reclaimed the throne. He died in 38 CE, after an eventful reign.Artabanos issued vast quantities of silver drachms from the mint at Ekbatana, and these are one of the most commonly seen Parthian coin types today. His drachms from other mints are a lot scarcer. Nisa was a city located in what is now Turkmenistan, near the eastern border of Iran; its ruins have been excavated and are a local tourist attraction. The fortified citadel of Nisa, known as Mithradatkart, also had its own mint. While Mithradatkart was a prolific mint, Nisa issued only a relatively small amount of coins. It seems strange that two mints would be located so close together and active simultaneously. My own personal theory is that Nisa was used as an "overflow" facility when the Mithradatkart mint was unable to meet its quotas, however I don't know of a good way to test this theory. Coins from both Mithradatkart and Nisa were initially of good silver, however during the reign of Phraates IV (38-2 BCE) they started to decline in both silver content and artistic quality, with heavily-blundered legends while coins of mints farther west remained of good silver and readable Greek. This trend to billon and pseudo-Greek continued until both the Mithradatkart and Nisa mints stopped production in the mid/late first century CE. Please post your related coins.

Arab-Sasanian, Eastern Sistan series. AR drachm (3.48 g, 31 mm). No date visible, c. late 8th century CE. Obverse: Imitation of Sasanian obverse of Khusro II with his cartoonish bust, name before in Pahlavi script; in margin, Arabic inscription "Bismillah rabi" (In the Name of God, Lord) and uncertain name, possibly Umar. Reverse: Imitation of Sasanian reverse with fire-altar and two attendants, blundered mintmark SK (Sakastan), date either missing or too blundered to read. This coin: Pars Coins Bargain eSale #5, lot 137 (July 3, 2023).The earliest Islamic silver coins were based on copies of Sasanian drachms. This template was replaced in most of the Islamic world around 700 AD as the "post-reform" silver dirhams entered circulation, with a novel design containing only Arabic inscriptions. However, Sassanian-style silver coinage persisted along the edges of the Muslim world for many decades. One of the latest regions under Muslim control to issue Sassanian-Based coins was Eastern Sistan, a region along the border of modern Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. In a previous post, I showed how the late Sasanian coinage gradually evolved into the late Eastern Sistan type:https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-cartoonification-of-khusro-ii-is-complete.316004/This coin is part of the late series in that progression. There appears to be a name in the obverse border, which may be a local governor or a mint official; the auctioneer suggests it may be Umar, but I have trouble seeing that on the given coin. There are a number of names that have been reported on Eastern Sistan coins, but almost all are unknown to history anyway. I also have trouble reading any sort of date on the coin; the auctioneer suggests is is 100 ("sad" in Persian), but I don't see it, and even if the date is in the post-Yazdegard Era rather than post-Hijra it seems too early given the style of the coin. Regardless of the uncertainty on exactly who issued the coin and when, I find the primitive style appealing, and what fun would life be without a few mysteries? At a final bid of just $36, the price was also very appealing. Please post any related coins you have, or suggest alternate readings of the Pahlavi or Arabic inscriptions.

Sasanian Persian Kingdom. AR drachm 30 mm, 3.93 g). Khusro I (531-579), Year 46. Mintmark BH. Obverse: Bust of king right, name before. Reverse: Fire-altar with two attendants, crescent and star symbols above, to right mintmark BH, to left date 46. Cf. Mitchiner MACW 1046. This coin: Purchased from Zurqieh, 2023.(Historical section contains re-used text.)Khusro's father, king Kavadh I (488-531 AD), had favored a radical Zoroastrian sect called the Mazdakites. The Mazdakites preached a doctrine with some resemblance to socialism, including sharing the resources of the aristocracy with the lower classes. (Kavadh may have supported the Mazdakites as a way to break the power of the nobility, leaving the central monarchy in control.) The Mazdakites also practiced wife-swapping, though some killjoy historians claim this aspect was over-emphasized by their enemies. Upon Kavadh's death, he named his younger son Khusro as successor. The Mazdakites supported the oldest son, Kawus; but Khusro soon defeated his sibling, executed the leader of the Mazdakites and many of his followers, and was successful in reestablishing Zoroastrian orthodoxy. Politically, Khusro continued to fight the powers of the aristocracy and minor nobles, removing the exemption from taxation that many of the wealthy families had enjoyed and installing government employees as tax collectors, instead of leaving local tax collection to the corrupt nobles. He also encouraged small landowners, and was strict in punishing any corruption by government officials. He fought a number of wars against the Byzantines, and also campaigned against the Hephthalites in Central Asia and established a military presence in Yemen. Overall, he is considered one of the greatest kings of the Sasanian dynasty, and is still revered in Iran as Anushiruwan (Immortal Soul).I already had several coins of Khusro I; what drew me to this one was the mintmark. While browsing through listings of bare-bones-identified Sasanian drachms, this mintmark stood out in that it was very easy to read (as BH) but unfamiliar to me. It was not listed in my quick go-to for mintmark ID, the page at NumisWiki based on the late Tom Mallon's pages (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Sasanian Mints) so I quickly purchased the coin as worthy of further research. Checking through print references showed that the BH mintmark was in fact reported, for both Sasanian and Arab-Sasanian coins. Gobl's "Bible" of Sasanian coins lists the mintmark as an unknown location, while Mitchiner's "Ancient and Classical World" also lists the mintmark, though only under Khusro I. Mitchiner even illustrates an example, dated Year 42 (coin #1046 in the book) and identifies the mint location as "Behkobad" in Iraq, near the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon. As for the Arab-Sasanian series, Album, in the second edition of his Checklist, suggests the location as "uncertain, perhaps Bihqubadh in Iraq" and gives the rarity of the mint as "RR" ("Very rare. Seldom available. Collectors may have to wait years to locate one."). The most recent, third edition, however, reverts to "uncertain location (RR)." Heinz Gaube's "Arabosasanidische Numismatik" has a two-paragraph discussion of the mintmark, ultimately concluding that its location is unknown. (Actually, given the gap between the known Sasanian use of BH mintmark and its reappearance on Arab-Sasanian coins some decades later, I'm not so confident that the mintmark necessarily meant the same thing in those two different time periods.) My conclusion: The mintmark BH seems to be scarce in general (both Sasanian and Arab-Sasanian), and we're really not sure where it was issued. Also, this illustrates why it is important not to rely on just one source. whether online or print. Please post whatever related coins you have.

Side 1 seems to show two lions standing to either side of a palm tree. Googling "coat of arms two lions standing palm tree" didn't come up with any close matches, however. Bottom of side 1 has lettering at the bottom that seems to read BAPIE, which is just as mysterious. Side 2 is harder to figure out- there's what might be a palm tree at the top, a border at the left, some vague "stuff" in teh center, and a trace of legend at the bottom. My immediate gut is some Indian state, maybe 19th century (under the British Raj, to explain the Roman=alphabet legend), but which one and exactly when, I have no idea.

On the Pakor II coin, the other bust is of his father. This started with Pakor II, and eventually became the standard design for Persis coins, as on this hemidrachm of Ardashir IV with his father Minuchtir IV (late 2nd-early 3rd century CE): :

Here's a Kidarite coin in the name of Toramana II (c. 530- 560). Note on the obverse his FREAKISHLY GIANT CLAW-HAND:

Interesting coin @Pellinore . I can confirm the mintmark of ShY and the date of 24 (though, 24 of what era?). The name before the bust does indeed appear different from my coin. It looks like the name on your coin ends in ...WLA as expected, but the bit before is different. I've spent a few minutes going through Gaube's table of "Praegenherren" and can't make out anything that seems to be the same as your coin, but maybe I don't have enough experience to see what is right before my face. Surely someone else here has experience reading Arabic names transliterated into Pahlavi Persian script? (Yeah, that sounds like a pretty obscure talent.)

Wait... a Parthian thread, and I didn't start it?😀 My quick thoughts on the OP coins: Coin #1 is from Persis, Pakor II (1st century AD), from the size probably an obol. Coin #2 is either Sellwood 33.4 or 33.6- the only difference between the two types is in the legend, and it is extremely similar between the two and I can't see which is yours. No mintmark on the coin, Sellwood attributes it (whether 33.4 or 33.6) to Rhagae. Coin #3: Assar states in Sunrise "The prince responsible for Orodes [I]'s demise [and who issued this coin]was Arsakes XVI (78-77- 62/61 BC in Parthia, Mar./Apr. 75- 67/66 BC in Babylonia) whose name is not preserved in the contemporary and later sources." Note that Arsakes XVI simply means that he was the 16th king in the Arsakid line, and even Assar won't hazard a guess as to his personal name. Arsakes XVI overlapped partially with Sinatrukes as rivals, and his wife was named Piruztana. Assar says some more, maybe I'll have time later to list it. Coin #4 is indeed Khusro II, bust looks like the earlier style, mintmark might be BYN which is an unknown location ("not in Kirman, Khurasan, or Sistan"), can't read the date. I have some related coins, but that would basically mean posting about half of my collection.

Yikes @kirispupis, hope things start looking up soon. Meanwhile, here's a bronze sestertius of Marcus Aurelius to match the VIC PAR denarius: And to give equal time to the Parthians: No Parthian coins, to my knowledge, make any direct reference to victories over Rome. There is at least one direct reference to a Parthian victory, though in this case it's of Parthian against Parthian. Vonones (c.8-12 CE) struck these silver drachms to commemorate his victory over Artabanos IV. The reverse reads (in Greek) "King Vonones, Victorious over Artabanos". The victory was short-lived, however, as Artabanos would reclaim the throne shortly afterwards.