Parthicus

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.

On 7/29/2023 at 6:59 PM, Pellinore said:

I think I have a coin much like this, but I don't have a picture ready at hand. My description says "4.02 gr. Gaube 4.2.35 p. 104, 140" and it mentions the year 24 h =  655 AD. Now I have to retrieve the coin... I'm afraid I lost interest in these types because they are so much alike, and alike late Xusro II drachm types.

But are these years reliable? That would matter to me.

Well, the year 43 is absolutely clear on my OP coin.  The problem remains: what era is being referenced?  The usual era used is AH (the normal Islamic calendar, starting from the hijra in 622 CE), but sometimes the post-Yazdegard era is apparently referenced (dating from the death of Yazdegard III, the last Sasanian king, in 651 CE).  When a coin names a governor whose dates are well-attested in historical sources, we can work backwards to see which era would have to be used for the date to make sense.  Of course, this doesn't work for anonymous coins, and sometimes there are frozen dates, but a lot of the dates seem well-confirmed.

The partial description you give of your coin is... interesting.  I have the cited work (Heinz Gaube, Arabosasanidische Numismatik) but don't use it much (at least partly because it's in German, which I don't read without a hefty dose of Google Translate).  Section 4.2.35 discusses the mintmark ShY, and attributes it to Sirjan (Siragan) in Kerman province.  The section cited on page 140, 8.3.17, reads (according to Google Translate): "The dating of the coins from Siragan is puzzling. Xusro types with minting years 24, 25, 30, 35 and 38 could all be dated after the YA [Yazdegard Era]. However, like the clearly legible year of issue 11 on a coin Ziyad b. Abi Sufyan remains obscure. Was it sometimes also counted according to years of government (of the caliphs or viceroys), or was only an old RV stamp used?"  Also, the year 24 AH should be 644/5 CE, not 655 (probably just a typo somewhere along the way).  

True, there's much more variety in the Arab-Sasanian bronzes, but those are correspondingly much harder to find in decent condition.  I like the silvers mainly for the historical interest of the various governors, and the caliphs they served- the history of this period is fascinating.  But I can certainly understand how some might find the drachms boring.

I have an example of the OP Hephthalite coin:

As for "lost peoples", that would probably be most of the coins I collect!  For example, the Parthians, though they ruled over Persia, were not Persians and had their origins on the steppes in what is now Turkmenistan (but they weren't Turks, either).  

Arab-Sasanian. Abdallah ibn Amir (c. 661-664 CE), dated 43 AH (frozen date). AR drachm (3.75 g, 31 mm). Obverse: Copy of Sasanian drachm of Khusro II, before face inscription in Pahlavi script APDWLA, in margin inscription in Arabic Bismillah ("in the name of God"). Reverse: Copy of normal Khusro II reverse of fire altar with attendants, to right mintmark in Pahlavi DA (Darabjard), to left date 43 [AH]. Album 7. This coin: Steve Album Auction 46, lot 1680 (May 18-21, 2023).

Abdallah ibn Amir, who is cited on this coin, served as governor of Basra under the third caliph, Uthman. Though Abdallah was a cousin of Uthman, he did not receive the job purely through nepotism, having already distinguished himself as a military leader. Abdallah was active in the conquest of many formerly Sasanian territories, and later in suppressing revolts in those regions. Coins issued in the name of Abdallah are somewhat scarce in the Arab-Sasanian series. Please post your coins of Abdallah, or whatever other related coins you have.

This Alexandrian obol of Vespasian features a reverse type of the goddess Isis, wearing a distinctive headdress of a disc between cow horns:

The Sasanian king Hormazd IV (579-590) tends to have a weird, giant "fish-eye":

Sasanian Kingdom. Treasury mint. Khusro III (c.631-2 CE), Year 2. AR drachm (3.47 g, 29 mm). Obverse: Beardless bust of king left, wearing same crown as Khusro II, behind head AFZUT (may [his glory] increase), name in Pahlavi script before. Reverse: Fire-altar with two attendants, star and crescent, to right mintmark WYHC (Treasury mint), to left Year 2. Gobl 232. This coin: Stephen Album Auction 46 (May 18-21, 2023), lot 1657.

In 628, a conspiracy of nobles removed Khusro II from the Sasanian throne, put him through a show trial, and executed him. This would set off a highly unsettled period in Sasanian history that would end in the empire being conquered by the nascent Islamic caliphate. The oldest son of Khusro II took the throne as Kavad II, and promptly executed all his surviving brothers and brothers-in-law to remove potential rivals. Kavad made peace with the Byzantines, but soon died, apparently of natural causes, and was succeeded by his young son Ardashir III (628-630). Ardashir was essentially a puppet of two powerful officials, until one of them, a general, Shahrbaraz, took the throne for himself. There followed a particularly confused period, where there were often several simultaneous contenders for the throne, each controlling only a portion of the country. Khusro III (c.631-2) was a son of either Kavad II or of Khusro II (who survived by being outside the Sasanian domains when Kavad killed his siblings). After asserting his own claim to the throne, he was able to rule the Khorasan region in northeastern Iran for a few months before being killed. His coins (silver drachms, no gold or bronze known) feature a beardless bust (unusual for Sasanian coins) and are all dated Year 2. (Sasanian regnal year dating bases Year 1 on whether the coronation is before of after the Nowruz holiday; rulers crowned after Nowruz would start out in Year 2, so several of the later rulers have coins dated Year 2 despite ruling for only a few months.) There is some confusion in the literature between Khusro III and Khusro V, who also issued coins dated Year 2; but it seems that coins of Khusro V show a bearded portrait, while Khusro III is clean-shaven. (My years of collecting Parthian coins have made me expect such confusion and difference of opinion among experts.) This is a fairly rare coin, and I was happy to acquire it. Please post whatever related coins you have.

Cool!  These are known as "Riker mounts" and are popular for displaying small objects (butterflies, shells, etc.)  I use them to display fossil shark teeth and other fossils, but never considered using them for coins.  Some (hopefully constructive) criticism: I think I would type up some fancier labels, or else move the information to the back side of the mount, so the coins don't look cluttered.

Parthian Kingdom. AE (16 mm, 3.02 g). Arsakes II (Artabanos I) (c. 211- 185 BCE). Obverse: Beardless head of king left, wearing bashlyk. Reverse: Eagle right, Greek legend "Arsak[ou]" vertical on left side. Sellwood type 6 (unlisted reverse design). This coin: Pars Coins eSale 4 (June 16, 2023), lot 25.

Arsakes II, who may have had the personal name Artabanos, was the son and successor of the first independent Parthian king, Arsakes I (c. 247-211 BCE). Arsakes I had carved out an independent kingdom from some eastern territory of the Seleucid empire. In 209 BCE Antiochos III defeated Arsakes II at the Battle of Mount Labus. As a result, Arsakes was forced to accept his status as a vassal of the Seleucids. This included being forced to stop issuing coins in his own name. Assar dates the silver and bronze coins of this type (Sellwood 6) to the first few years of Arsakes II's reign, before his defeat by Antiochos III, while coins of a revised design may be from after 190 BCE, after Antiochos was defeated by the Romans at the Battle of Magnesia and Arsakes felt more free to assert his independence.

This reverse type (eagle right) is not listed in the standard catalogs of Sellwood or Shore, or in the Sunrise collection. However, the parthia.com website lists six examples in the database, making this a rare but not unknown type. Please post your related coins.

There is modern, commercially-produced garum, though it's definitely a specialty product (i.e. not likely to be found in your local grocery store).  Here's one source I found online (note: I haven't tried it so can't say how good it is):

https://www.zingermans.com/Product/garum-colatura-anchovy-sauce/P-COL

If you want something less "artisanal" (read: expensive), the fish sauces used in Southeast Asian cooking are fairly similar, and you can get a big bottle cheap. 

I once found in an online translation of Apicius a recipe for "Parthian chicken", so of course I had to try it.  It basically involved slow-cooking the chicken in pomegranate juice (pomegranates were associated with Parthia).  It came out fairly tasty, though I haven't made it in a while so can't really be more specific.  

Ghaznavids. AR dirham (3.0 g, 19 mm). Mahmudpur (Lahore) mint. Mahmud (998-1030 CE), dated AH 419 (1028 CE). Obverse: Inscriptions in Arabic. Center: The Shahida (Muslim profession of faith) "la ilah illa Allah/ Muhammad rasul Allah" (There is no god but God/ Muhammad is the messenger of God) and additional inscriptions citing the ruler Mahmud and the Abbasid caliph al-Qadir Billah; inscription around the edge giving the date and city of minting. Reverse: Inscription in Sanskrit. Center: "avyaktam eka muhammada avatara nrpati mahamuda" (The Unmanifested is one/ Muhammad is the avatar/ Mahmud the king). Album 1610. This coin: Stephen Album Internet-only Auction 19, lot 617 (March 20, 2023).

The Ghaznavids were a dynasty of Turkic origin, but heavily Persianized culturally. Mahmud's father, Sabuktigin, was the governor of Ghazni under the declining Persian-based Samanid dynasty. Sabuktigin died in 997, leaving his throne to his younger son Ismail. Mahmud revolted, and in 998 overthrew his brother and took over the Ghaznavid domains. He officially gave homage to the Samanid emir, but acted quite independently. Mahmud also sought, and eventually received, recognition from the Abbasid caliph as a defender of Sunni Islam. Mahmud spent much of his reign on campaign, conquering both Muslim and Hindu regions and greatly expanding the Ghaznavid territory, eventually controlling much of Persia (including most of the territory of his former Samanid overlords), Afghanistan, and portions of northern India. This map (borrowed from Wikipedia) shows the extent of Ghaznavid territory at the time of Mahmud's death:

In addition to his military prowess, Mahmud was also a patron of learning and the arts, and Ghazni became a cultural center second only to Baghdad. The great Persian poet Ferdowsi presented his epic poem the Shanameh (Book of Kings) to Mahmud in 1010 CE. Although the Shahnameh is recognized as the greatest and most influential work of Persian literature, Mahmud was not so impressed, and instead of paying Ferdowsi the promised one gold dinar per couplet, instead only gave him a silver dirham per couplet. Despite this unfortunate incident, Mahmud is nonetheless considered a great patron of the arts.  

While Mahmud was important historically, what really drew me to this coin was the unusual bilingual inscription. The coin translates into Sanskrit not only the practical information of who struck it and when, but also tries to translate the key statement of Islamic faith into a form understandable to a Sanskrit-reading, and presumably Hindu, audience. I am absolutely not an expert in comparative religions, but based on my understanding, I would rate the success in transmitting Islamic ideas as mixed. The translation of God as avyaktam (Unmanifested) seems pretty reasonable to me. But calling Muhammad avatar probably introduces unwanted meanings. Avatar is usually translated as "Divine Manifestation", but that isn't quite what is meant by the Muslim notion of Muhammad as the rasul (Messenger) of God. Divine Manifestation, to my understanding, seems to imply that Muhammad carries some aspect or portion of the Divine Being within himself, which seems very contrary to the fierce monotheism of Islamic theology. Of course, I welcome input from any readers more theologically sophisticated. Regardless, there was at least an attempt to translate important religious ideas of the conquerors into a form that could be understood by the locals. This coin is listed as R (Rare) in Album's checklist. Please show whatever related coins you have.

It was similar here in Baltimore, Maryland yesterday.  The skies were hazy, and there was a distinct smell of wood smoke in the air.  Today is supposed to be better, but still not normal.  Stay safe, everyone.

I received my two coins in the mail late yesterday.  On the left is an 1860 1 lira from Emilia (Tuscany); on the right is a 1794 20 soldi from Sardinia.  The 1860 coin is especially interesting as a transitional piece to unified Kingdom of Italy coinage (which started in 1861)- Victor Emmanuel is named on the obverse as "King-elect" (that's not a title you hear very often), and on the reverse the denomination is "one Italian lira"- they had to specify that it's an "Italian" lira, not just some local currency unit.  

I just wanted to let everyone know that I definitely do not have an addiction to copper coins. Nope, not me. The beautiful brown toning, or the multicolored patinas wrought by centuries of subtle chemical reactions? So boring. The affordability compared to silver and gold coins? Meh. The beautiful designs? The importance in understanding history? The stories they could tell, from circulating among the common people of every area? Just doesn't do anything for m-

Okay, I confess! I love old copper coins, from pristine Roman sestertii, to Umayyad falsin with elegant Kufic script, to heavy Canadian bank tokens, Latin Union coins, and beyond. Please share your beautiful copper coins (including bronze, brass, and other copper-based alloys) so I feel less alone in my addiction.

Won two lots, though neither of them ancient, both are Italian States coins, from Tuscany and Sardinia.  I'll post photos once they arrive.

Arab-Byzantine. No date, struck c.73-78 AH (693-697 CE). Amman mint. Obverse: Standing Caliph, sheathed sword slung over left side, Arabic inscription around. Reverse: Steps surmounted by transformed cross, star to left, Arabic inscription around. Album 112. This coin: Zurqieh, May 2023.

As the early Muslim armies swept out of Arabia and into the Sasanian and Byzantine Empires, they soon ran into the problem of what coin types to strike in the newly acquired territories. For the first few decades, most coin types were based on the coins that had previously circulated in that region. Coins struck in Mesopotamia, Persia, and other former Sasanian territory mostly followed Sasanian models, while coins in former Byzantine lands largely followed Byzantine types. The reverse of this coin is based on contemporary Byzantine gold solidi, which featured a cross at the top of several steps. However, since the issuer of this coin is not Christian, the cross has been transformed into... well, I'm not sure exactly what I'd call it, but it is definitely no longer a cross. The obverse type, featuring a standing figure with sword which is thought to represent the Caliph, seems to be novel, and is not closely based on any contemporary Byzantine coin.

The caliph at the time this coin was struck was 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (65-86 AH/685-705 CE). 'Abd al-Malik succeeded his father Marwan in 685 CE, at a time of turmoil in the Islamic world. The Umayyad Caliphate was having trouble holding onto power, and there were several rival pretenders to the caliphate and other rebellions. This map, borrowed from Wikipedia, shows the various territories under the control of different factions in 686 (the red area is what is solidly under 'Abd al-Malik's control):

Parthian Kingdom. AR drachm (20 mm, 3.51 g). Laodicea mint. Orodes II (57-38 BCE) . Obverse: Diademed bust of king left, crescent behind, star before. Reverse: Seated archer surrounded by standard seven-line Greek legend, lambda (Laodicea mintmark) above, no mark below bow. Sellwood 47.17, Shore 246. This coin: Zurqieh, May 2023.

Orodes II was a son of the Parthian king Phraates III (c.70-57 BCE). In 57 BCE, Orodes and his brother Mithradates (called Mithradates III in older references, now believed to be IV) conspired to kill their father and take over the throne. The two brothers seem to have shared power for a short while, but soon quarreled, and within a couple of years Orodes killed Mithradates to become sole ruler. Orodes had several fights with the Romans, most notably at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE where the Parthians wiped out a large Roman force led by the triumvir Crassus. In 38 BCE, his favorite son Pakoros was killed in battle in Roman Syria, forcing the distraught Orodes to choose a new heir. Unfortunately, the son he chose, Phraates IV, was quite bloodthirsty and promptly killed his father and other brothers to consolidate his grasp on power.

As I've stated many times before, one think I enjoy is seeking out Parthian coins from scarce mints that have been overlooked by sellers. This coin bears the mintmark of Laodicea, which is one of the scarcer Parthian mint marks. There were several cities in the ancient world called Laodicea, the most famous of which was in Phrygia and is mentioned in the New Testament. However, this coin was struck at Laodicea in Media, which became Nihavand in Sasanian times and is still an inhabited city in Hamadan Province, Iran. At $59.50, I wouldn't really call this a steal, but I was happy to find it nonetheless. Please post whatever related coins you have.

An interesting thread, maybe I can contribute my own recollections.  I started collecting ancients in the early 90s, as a college undergraduate.  The local coin shop had some ancients in its stock (including some of the first batch of LRBs and Provincials to come out of former Yugoslavia etc. following the end of Eastern European Communism).  This was a couple of years before the World Wide Web hit- the Internet was starting to become popular, but it was mostly for email, or else Usenet (including the rec.collecting.coins group).  Without the Web-based resources, finding information on coins was a lot harder.  I spent a lot of time looking for hard-to-find numismatic references via booksellers or publishers.  My first ancient-specific reference was Sear's Roman Coins and Their Values (4th edition, the last one-volume version), which the local coin shop special-ordered for me.  I picked up Mitchiner's Oriental Coins and Their Values Volume 1: Ancient and Classical World (invaluable for India and Central Asia) in '96- I don't remember where I ordered it from, but it definitely came in the mail.  I also remember getting paper fixed-price lists and auction catalogues- I remember Alex G. Malloy, Antioch Associates (which sold Lindgren's collection), and others.  I think it was in '98 that a friend introduced me to a website called eBay, and I spent a lot of time (and dollars) there.  Good times, good times...

But overall I'd have to say that we have it better today.  It's just so much easier to find information about coins, and to find dealers selling the coins you're interested in.  The past is a fun place to visit, but I'd still prefer to live in the present.

For Sasanian dates and mints, I use the pages at Forum Numismatics' NumisWiki, which are basically just versions of Tom Mallon's pages:

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Sasanian Dates

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Sasanian Mints

Agreed with @John Conduitt that BYSh (Bishapur) is a possibility, but that encrustation makes a definitive answer impossible.  Year looks like 33 to me, unless anyone else can offer a good argument for something else...

One advantage of collecting coins from "Non-Classical" (i.e. not Roman or Greek) cultures is that they are often cheaper than comparable Roman or Greek pieces.  Of course, there are rarities or unusually high-grade specimens that command high prices, but there are plenty of bargains.  Starting at the low end, this Chinese cash from the Northern Song emperor Ren Zong, Jia You period (1056-1063) cost me just $2 from a junk box at a coin show in 2019:

This Parthian silver drachm of Phraates IV (38-2 BCE), from a rare mint (Susa), cost $60 in a smaller auction earlier this year:

This Sasanian drachm of Peroz (459-484) was $45 in 2017:

This Abbasid dirham, minted in Armenia (!) in 145 AH (762/3 CE), was $65 in 2021:

I could go on and on, but I've got other stuff to do.  Hopefully I've made my point, that lots of cool Eastern coins are available in the under $100 price range.