Hi
Julia B,
I am thinking in terms of refernces that contain a general discussion of
Sasanian coinage in addition to a simple illustrated listing of coins with their brief descriptions. For the beginner I believe that this
type of reference is the most beneficial. Below are my personal top picks.
The classical
standard reference for
Sasanian coinage is
Robert Göbl's
Sasanian Numismatics. Since this landmark
work was published scholarship has added much to Göbl's
work, e.g.
identification of mints, categorization of
types, etc. Nonetheless this reference is
still rich in information and in my opinion deserves pride of place on the bookshelf of the collector of
Sasanian coins.
Sasanian Coinage and History: The Civic Numismatic Collection of Milan by Andrea
Gariboldi is another favorite of mine. As the title implies, the coinage of the various
Sasanian King of Kings is, when possible, placed into proper historical contexts.
Although it does not deal with historical contexts, Rika
Gyselen's
New Evidence For Sasanian Numismatics: The Collection of Ahmad Saeedi is another important reference for the collector.
The
Sylloge Nummorum Sasanidarum series contains the most important and detailed modern stuides of
Sasanian coinage. The first three volumes (with the third volume having two parts) take the collector from the coinage of Ardashir I to Kawad I, and as of now these are the only volumes in the series dealing with specific rulers that are published. These studies contain a veritable treasure trove of information, detail, tables/charts, and illustrated coin examples. If you decide to specialize in the coinage of a particular
King of Kings, then the corresponding SNS volume is a must. As of now we are waiting for the publication of volumes IV, V (parts 1 and 2), and VI. These will take us all of the way to Yazdgerd III and the end of the
Sasanian era.
An Introduction to Sasanian Coins by David
Sellwood, Phillip
Whitting, and Richard
Williams is a nice little volume that has the additional charm of being written in cursive. This is clearly an homage to W. H.
Valentine's
Sasanian Coins, published in 1921 and itself written in cursive. I own
Valentine's
work but I must admit that the light printing in combination with the cursive makes it impossible for me to read.
Oriental Coins and their Values, Vol. 2: the Ancient and Classical World by Michael
Mitchiner is another
standard work that you will sometimes see listed as a reference for a particular coin. I do not own this volume so I cannot speak to its virtues.
Finally, you should consider two great works of
history by Touraj Daryaee:
Sasanian Iran: The Portrait of a Late Antique Empire (2008) and
Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire (2009). The latter is a more in depth version of the former, but I believe that they are both worthy of owning. Daryaee is primarily a historian, but he has a speical interest in
numismatics and the discussion of coinage is woven throughout
his narratives. He believes very strongly that coins can and must serve as historical sources, especially with respect to the
Sasanian era which has an almost absolute dearth of
contemporary primary sources.
I
hope that the discussion above helps you on your journey, and I
hope that others on this
forum add to and sharpen my list above.
All the best, and happy collecting.
Tracy