Sasanian Empire: ca. 591-628 AD silver drachm of Khusru II

[lordmarcovan]

This Sasanian is presently my only non-Western ancient.  NGC gave it perfect strike and surface scores.

 

 

[Al Kowsky]

I bought the Khusro II drachm pictured below many years ago when you could find them for $10 at coin shows. I splurged & paid $15 for this one because it was struck with fresh dies 😂.

[Furryfrog02]

1 hour ago, Al Kowsky said:

I bought the Khusro II drachm pictured below many years ago when you could find them for $10 at coin shows. I splurged & paid $15 for this one because it was struck with fresh dies 😂.

What were those days like? I'd kill for that coin at $15! 
I definitely got into ancients too late in the game 😞

[Kali]

Chosroes II (Khusro II) (591-628 A.D.)

Sasanian Empire
AR Drachm
O: GDH apzwt | hwslwb
Facing bust, head right, wearing winged crown with star and crescent, inside double dotted-border, crescents with stars at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock.
R: sycsyh | RD
Fire altar with two attendants standing facing, both hands on sword hilt, crescents on heads, all inside triple dotted-border, crescents with stars at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock.
Year 33 (622/623)
LYW for Rev-Ardashir
4.1g
32mm
Göbl SN, Xusro II, IIb/3 (Plate XIII/211-215); Valentine 50

[Parthicus]

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:

 

[Al Kowsky]

6 hours ago, Furryfrog02 said:

What were those days like? I'd kill for that coin at $15! 
I definitely got into ancients too late in the game 😞

When I became interested in ancient coins in the late 1960s & early 1970s very few collectors in the USA were interested in ancient coins, in fact not many collectors were all that interested in American coins back then 🤨. Stamp collecting was the big thing in those days. Believe it or not, the main library in Rochester, a city of 500,000 people, had only one book that had some ancient coins pictured in it, STANDARED CATALOGUE of BRITISH COINS, by SEABY, 1966 Edition. I ended up buying a copy of that book that's still in my collection 🤣. When I opened my coin business in 1980 I was flooded with auction catalogues & price lists from most of the big players. I gave away everything related to U.S. coins & kept the material related to foreign & ancient coins. The internet created an explosion of interest in ancient coins in our country that continues to grow ☺️. Everyone marvels how cheap coins were in those days, but remember that the dollar was worth a lot more than it is today. Minimum wage jobs paid $1.25 an hour back then, & good factory jobs could paid $3.00 to 5.00 an hour 😏. So it's not too late to get into ancient coins.

[JeandAcre]

Some really solid examples, @lordmarcovan et al.  @Al Kowsky, your account is hugely resonant; I was collecting from more or less exactly the same time.  In the early-mid '70's, when I managed to expand from late Roman, and occasional Byzantine and Sasanian to European medieval, it was solely by way of mail order catalogs.  (I got several from Alex Malloy --#@!?!!, I wish I'd hung onto those.)

And, Rats, I don't have a Khusru II.  But here's a Khusru I (531-579 CE).  The reign is the same as the only one I had as a kid, from the local coin shop --and I can vouch for the prices back then!  Needed it as much for sentimental reasons as anything, although the reign happens to be pretty significant, even for Sasanians.  Not as good a strike as his namesake's ones, but I like the style. 

[Curtisimo]

I’m loving all of your new additions @lordmarcovan! Congrats on a great coin.

Here is mine.

Sasanian Empire
Khusro II (AD 590 – 628)
AR Drachm, BBA mint (court mint), Regnal year 30, struck ca. AD 619 / 620
Obv.: Pahlavi script at left and right. Khusro bust facing, head right, wearing winged crown with star and crescent, inside double dotted border, crescent and stars at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock.
Rev.: Date (left) and mint mark (right). Fire altar with two attendents, inside triple dotted border, crescent and stars at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock.
Ref.: Göbl SN type II
Ex Sallent Collection, Ex JAZ Numismatics, Ex Aegean Numismatics

[Al Kowsky]

4 hours ago, JeandAcre said:

Some really solid examples, @lordmarcovan et al.  @Al Kowsky, your account is hugely resonant; I was collecting from more or less exactly the same time.  In the early-mid '70's, when I managed to expand from late Roman, and occasional Byzantine and Sasanian to European medieval, it was solely by way of mail order catalogs.  (I got several from Alex Malloy --#@!?!!, I wish I'd hung onto those.)

And, Rats, I don't have a Khusru II.  But here's a Khusru I (531-579 CE).  The reign is the same as the only one I had as a kid, from the local coin shop --and I can vouch for the prices back then!  Needed it as much for sentimental reasons as anything, although the reign happens to be pretty significant, even for Sasanians.  Not as good a strike as his namesake's ones, but I like the style. 

Strange you should mention Alex Malloy 😖, he was the first person to auction coins for me. It took nearly a half year to get my money from him, & only with a threat from my lawyer....

[JeandAcre]

Yipes, @Al Kowsky.  That's a complete surprise.  From his fixed-price catalogs, and the reference work he's best known for, I wouldn't have guessed that he was ethically compromised.  As in, at all.

[Sulla80]

Nice coin @lordmarcovan 5/5 evident on the reverse where you can see every detail of the fire altar and attendants.

Here's my favorite Khosrau II (notes here: https://www.sullacoins.com/post/heraclius-a-sicilian-countermark)

Sasanian Kings, Husrav (Khosrau) II, AD 591-628, AR Drachm (31mm, 4.04g, 9h), YZ (Yazd) mint, dated RY 38 (AD 628 last year he reigned)

Obv: Bust right, wearing mural crown, korymbos set on crescent

Rev: Fire altar with ribbons; flanked by two attendants; star and crescent flanking flames

Ref: SC Tehran 4026-8; Sunrise –

5 hours ago, Al Kowsky said:

Everyone marvels how cheap coins were in those days, but remember that the dollar was worth a lot more than it is today.

I have to agree with @Al Kowsky - $10 in 1975 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $57 today (2023) - so Khosrau II has basically kept up with inflation over time.  

[Al Kowsky]

16 hours ago, JeandAcre said:

Yipes, @Al Kowsky.  That's a complete surprise.  From his fixed-price catalogs, and the reference work he's best known for, I wouldn't have guessed that he was ethically compromised.  As in, at all.

J.A., I was surprised too because he came highly recommended from another dealer I did a lot of business with. He did apologize when he finally paid me & used the flimsy excuse that he & his wife went on an extended vacation in Europe 🙄. Now imagine what would happen if I used that excuse for not paying my winter heating bills 😏.....