Attribution Challenge

[Joe Sermarini]

This coin arrived tagged Tabaristan, Autonomous AE Fals, bust left holding falcon?, overstruck on two-bust type. Rare.



3.521g, 20.mm.

We can't find it anywhere.  I checked the various Mitchiner volumes but did not spot it.  Anyone know this type?

[James Anderson]

A Google search produced several snippets from The Numismatic Chronicle,
Volume 151, of the Royal Numismatic Society (Great Britain) 1991, mentioning
coins showing a man holding a hawk or falcon. There are also references to
plates:

http://books.google.com/books?ei=JdbUTMP8FoP-8Aa4gdmaBg&ct=result&id=tuG7AAAAIAAJ&dq=holding+falcon+coin&q=falcon#search_anchor

Maybe someone who has the volume, or access to it, would be willing to check this out. Jim Anderson

[mauseus]

Hi,

The paper you cite is about Arab-Byzantine coins with an M on the reverse (from memory) so sadly do not match this.

The closest I could come up with was the series labelled as Autonomous Persian in  S Album's "Marsden's Numismata Orientalia" which had a number of specimens, albeit different, from Tabariz.

Regards,

mauseus

[dltcoins]

My educated guess is that this coin belongs to the Arab-Sasanian series (or perhaps contemporary autonomous parts of what had been the Sasanian empire but not yet under Arab control). The "two-bust" type referred to would in that case be similar to the photo below, an imitation of the coinage of Heraclius. I checked the Ashmolean Sylloge (SICA-1), Album's Checklist and the zeno.ru database but could not find a match for your coin. I would suggest also checking Rika Gyselen, Arab-Sasanian Copper Coinage, Osterreichischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften, Wien (2000). Unfortunately, I don't own a copy.

[Howard Cole]

This is not an Arab-Byzantine or Arab-Sassanian coin.  I believe it is what is called Iranian Civic Copper coinage.  This coinage was minted from Iran to Afghanistan.

P.S.  Just checked all of my references for Iranian Civic coinage and there is nothing like this.  I wonder if it is Armenian?

[dltcoins]

Mr. Cole's idea may have some merit. I hadn't considered the much later "civic" coppers, assuming there was some basis to the description that came with the coin. Tabaristan's "autonomous" coinage belongs to the Arab-Sasanian period and I'm having a little trouble picturing the obverse image in a late-enough context to fall under the "Iranian Civic" category. Of course, whoever labeled the coin may not have known any more than we do. I still tend to think it's Arab-Sasanian, but I also like the way Howard is thinking. Whatever this coin is, I rather like it...

Joe, how much might I expect to pay for it not to be your worry any longer?

[Joe Sermarini]

One thing that actually holds me back from making more money is an obsesive compulsive need to identify everything to the nth degree.  I sometimes spend a whole day on $25 coin.  No joke, it is beyond reason.  I am not sure I can give up on this one.   

[lv88]

Could be double struck. It's not Armenian.