A nice Arab-Sasanian drachm

[Parthicus]

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.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I have no Arab-Sasanian to share.

It's a really nice piece, worthy of praise.  Congratulations upon a nice acquisition!

[Sulla80]

I'll add three coins - only one of which is Arab Sasanian and all of which have variations of king + fire altar across about 700 years -starting in 270 AD with this one, a Kushano-Sasanian coin of Hormidz

Kushano-Sasnian, Ormazd (Hormizd) I, circa AD 270-300, AE, Harid
Obv: Crowned bust right.
Rev: Half-length bust, holding wreath and spear, emerging from fire altar

 

And an Islamic coin from the Governors of Tabaristan, nearly 500 years later (788 AD)

Islamic, 'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Rashid, AH 170-193 / AD 786-809, AR hemidrachm citing the governor of Tabaristan, Hani (AH 172-174 = AD 788-790), Tabaristan, PYE 137 = AH 172 = AD 788

Obv: Crowned and draped Sasanian-style bust to right; behind head, AFZUT GDH ('may his kingship increase' in Pahlawi); before head, 'Hani' in Kufic; in outer margin, APD NWKW ('excellent' and 'good' in Pahlawi)

Rev: Sasanian fire altar set on three steps, flanked by two attendants standing facing; to left, date; to right, mint TPURSTAN ('Tabaristan' in Pahlawi)

Ref: Album 69

and..one more from 950 AD inspired by the Sassanian silver drachms of Shah Peroz I (459-484), Peroz lost three wars against the Hephthalite Huns and twice paid large ransoms to free himself and his son Kavadh. In 484 he died on the battelfield once again fighting with the Huns.  @Finn235 has an amazing illustrated writeup on (another site).

India, Medieval, Chalukyas of Gujarat, 950-1000, Gadhaiya, emission 4, possibly an early Chalukya issue

Obv: Bust with an elongated skull and large ears to right, traces of drapery

Rev: Sasanian fire altar flanked by two stylized attendants

Ref: Abels assigned to emission 4 to the first half of the 10th century, B.U. Abels, Ein Beitrag zur Entwicklung der Gadhia-Münzen, in: Beiträge zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Archäologie, vol. 4 (1982).

Edited July 30, 2023 by Sulla80

[Pellinore]

21 hours ago, Parthicus said:

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).

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.

[Parthicus]

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.

[Pellinore]

Less than a fortnight, and here it is already! Now I have it in my fingers, I must say I fall for the beauty of this coin, so I will keep it. Although I'm glad my father looked very different from Xusro II. Imagine a bulge-eyed bulb-coiffed giant like that with a huge flutter crown saying good nighty-nighty to you in your toddler's cot...

Just made a picture, and here are also some clear pictures of the texts. It is not quite the same coin as yours, @Parthicus- I believe the APDWLA name is spelled differently, the lower crescent is not flanked by triplets, and the mint and date are different. I hope you can make something of this. 

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by Pellinore

[Parthicus]

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.)