Help needed with a Sasanian-type coin

[Stkp]

After recently attending a conference in Princeton on Sasanian numismatics, I was inspired to acquire the 32 mm. coin attached below. It was sold as an issue by the Hunnic Tribes, imitating a Sasanian coin. My initial impression was that the coin is actually a Sasanian drachm issued by Khusro II. I've been struggling to identify the mint and year (my best guess is WH mint, 13th regnal year). Now, my thinking is that stylistically, perhaps it is a Hephthalite issue after all. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. This is a new area of coinage for me and I fear that it is beyond my ability to attribute correctly on my own. I have also posted this coin, and this request for assistance, under the thread concerning the conference. Stkp

[Stkp]

I've been looking at Hephthalite issues and they all seem to bear a Sogdian tamgha and inscriptions in the margins. I'm leaning back toward my original thinking that the coin is an official Khusro II. Stkp

[quadrans]

Dear, Steve,

I used sometimes this website, to Sassanid coins, may be helpful,

 https://www.beastcoins.com/Sasanian/Sasanian.htm

and

http://grifterrec.org/coins/coins.html

I'm sure your coin is Khusro II., but it depends on if the Cufic text is original or illegible imitation, but it is not my field..

Regards

Joe

[Stkp]

Thanks for the advice, Joe. I used both of those sites as well as the NumisWiki articles on Sasanian mints and dates. I concluded that the coin is an official Khusro II issue, although my interpretation of the reverse legends is tentative. From what I gather, the Pahlavi script is not always easy to decipher even on offical coins. The coin is now in my gallery:

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-150961

Stkp

[quadrans]

 

Joe

[Tracy Aiello]

Thanks for the advice, Joe. I used both of those sites as well as the NumisWiki articles on Sasanian mints and dates.

Hi Stkp. In addition to Beast Coins and T. K. Mallon's excellent archived site you might also try ZENO.RU - Oriental Coins Database Sasanian page - http://www.zeno.ru/showgallery.php?cat=2805 and The British Museum Sasanian coin project -http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/research_projects/all_current_projects/sasanian_coin_project.aspx. But you probably were already aware of these sites if you were on the NumisWiki Sasanian pages.

Yes, I believe that the Pahlavi script is indeed challenging as it contains variations in its written style. Prods Oktor Skjævø's chapter entitled "Paleography" in Sylloge Nummorum Sasanidarum Paris - Berlin - Wien, Band I: Ardashir I - Shapur I (Michael Alram and Rika Gyselen, Wien: Österreichischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften, 2003. 46 – 69) might be of value, but I am unsure if it pertains only to the time period of Ardashir I and Shapur I or if it pertains to later periods, such as that of Khusro II. I have yet to read the article.

[Stkp]

Tracey, I had not resorted to the British Museum Project. I just looked through their collection of Khusro II (which they spell as Khusrau) and have revised the mint abbreviation from H to WH. Thanks for the advise. Stkp

[Stkp]

Now I have re-revised the mint attribution back to H and am declining even to guess at a date. Stkp

[Tracy Aiello]

Now I have re-revised the mint attribution back to H and am declining even to guess at a date. Stkp

Hi Stkp. I have taken your coin on as a research project, as I am truly a neophyte at this and need the practice. Hopefully you don’t mind, and hopefully someone else with far more experience and knowledge than myself will come along and weigh in. First, I am assuming that you coin was issued by Khusro II and is not a Hunnic tribe imitation.

I think that you should reconsider WH, instead of H, as the mint for your coin. My reasoning is as follows:

I have consulted Gyselen, New Evidence For Sasanian Numismatics as well as Sylloge Nummorum Sasanidarum Israel; Usbekistan; Schaaf; Iran; Tajikistan and I find no coins attributed to mint H for Khusro II. The Schaaf volume lists over 950 coins attributed to Khusro II. In fact I don’t find mint H mentioned in any of these SNS references, no matter to which ruler the coins are attributed.

When I look at all of the Khusro II (Khusrau II) coin pictures in The British Museum online collection of Sasanian coins (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/research_projects/all_current_projects/sasanian_coin_project.aspx)   I do not find a single coin attributed to mint H (there are over 900 coins attributed to this king of kings).

When looking at coins attributed to Khusro II from mint WH pictured on T. K. Mallon’s archieved Sasanian Empire pages (http://web.archive.org/web/20140326092955/http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/sasania/sasanian.html) I don’t find any of them with the three character script per the illustration of WH on the NumisWiki Sasanian Mint page (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Sasanian%20Mints). On the NumisWiki page the illustrated Pahlavi script for WH has three characters and it is the first character (reading left to right) that I don’t find on any of the pictures of the WH Khusro II coins on Mallon’s website. If you go to the top of the NumisWiki Sasanian Mint page and look at the Pahlavi for H and W each one of these has a single character. I know nothing of Pahlavi so maybe if you put W and H together to make WH then you have that third leftmost character. I have not yet been able to consult MacKenzie’s A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary in order to see if this offers any clue.

Consider these Khusro II coins attributed to WH, on Mallon’s website (you may have to copy and paste the urls into a browser window:
http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/sasania/khusroII/i_sas_khusroII_4.jpg
http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/sasania/khusroII/i_sas_khII_WH.jpg

Consider this Khusro II coin attributed to WH on the Zeno.RU Oriental Coins database:
https://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?photo=210680

Consider these Khusro II (Khusrau II) coins from The British Museum’s online collection of Sasanian coins:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?searchText=Khusrau%20II&ILINK34484,assetId=1284185001&objectId=904043&partId=1
https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?searchText=Khusrau%20II&ILINK34484,assetId=1284013001&objectId=904062&partId=1

Finally, when I look at various pictures of Khusro II coins attributed to WH on the three websites listed above the first character from the top down of the mint signature sometimes looks like an ‘L’, sometimes not. On your coin it does not look like an ‘L’ but perhaps this is simply a difference of style.

If I get the time I will investigate the date signature on your coin. I believe that Daryaee’s “The Use of Religio-Political Propaganda on Coins of Xusrō II.” The Journal of the American Numismatics (1989-), vol. 9 (1997) helps to at least narrow down the date somewhat. On page 44 he states that on coins issued by Khusro II from AD 601 to 628 the obverse has a break in the inner ring on the top left and the legend extends through it. Your coin has such a break on the obverse. So, the date should then not fall on a regnal year prior to AD 601.

Thanks for indulging me!

[Stkp]

Tracy,

I am very happy to "indulge" you with your "research project." Thank you for the assistance.

I had noticed the absence on any of the websites of any Kushro II drachms bearing the H mint abbreviation, but chalked that up to the randomness of hoard finds. After looking at some of the coin links that you found, I am reverting back to my initial interpretation of the mint abbreviation as WH = Veh-Ardashir.

In light of Daryaee, I have also narrowed the range of possible years of issue.

I have incorporated your information into my attribution of the coin in my gallery: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-150961
As you can see, I gave you credit for your assistance in attributing the coin, with a link to this discussion. If you find the time to further research the date signature I will again update the attribution in my gallery.

Sasanian numismatics can be more challenging for the uninitiated than many other areas of ancient/medieval coin collecting.

Stkp

[Tracy Aiello]

Stkp,

Thank for the attribution, I very much appreciate it. I will let you know if I get to the date, and what I find.

[Tracy Aiello]

Hello Stkp,

I’ve looked at your coin again. Keeping Daryaee’s “The Use of Religio-Political Propaganda on Coins of Xusrō II” in mind I looked at the NumisWiki Sasanian Dates page and I was struck by ‘syh’, regnal year 30, in the Pahlavi Dates section. That would be, if I am not mistaken, AD 619.

When consulting T. K. Mallon’s archived website, BeastCoins, Zeno.RU Oriental Coins database, and the British Museum I was hoping to find a fair number of Khusro II coins attributed to mint WH for regnal year 30, but I only found one (in the British Museum). Hmmm. I was also hoping to find a coin attributed to regnal year 30 with a date signature that very closely (or almost exactly) matched the style of the signature on your coin, but I found none. Nonetheless consider the coins attributed to Khusro II below, all attributed to regnal year 30:

Mallon’s archived website, mint BBA, regnal year 30: http://grifterrec.rasmir.com/sasania/khusroII/i_sas_khII_7-12_200.jpg
and mint WZ, regnal year 30: http://grifterrec.rasmir.com/islam/arab_sas/cmk_sas/i_asas_kIIYZcmk11.jpg

BeastCoins, uncertain mint, regnal year 30: https://www.beastcoins.com/Sasanian/Z4264.jpg

The British Museum, mint WH, regnal year 30: https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=1284507001&objectId=3335725&partId=1
and mint ART, regnal year 30: https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=1284490001&objectId=3335404&partId=1
and mint NY, regnal year 30: https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=1284505001&objectId=3335703&partId=1
and mint ST, regnal year 30: https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=1284517001&objectId=3335762&partId=1

To me the style of regnal year script on your coin looks as if the script is highly compressed, so imagine that when you look at the coins above. When I imagine the regnal year scripts highly compressed I see that slight “hill” in the ‘h’ of ‘syh’ disappear, which is what I see on your coin. Thus, my best guess is that the regnal year of your coin is ‘syh’, year 30, AD 619.

I admit that my conclusion may suffer from a form of confirmation bias, as I was struck by the script for ‘syh’ on the NumisWiki Sasanian Dates page, only looked for coins attributed to regnal year 30, and did not look at coins attributed to other regnal years. Nonetheless, regnal year 30 is what stands out to me.

Thanks!

[Stkp]

Thank you once again, Tracy. I have again updated my attribution of the coin, crediting your assistance.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-150961
Stkp

[Tracy Aiello]

Thank you Stkp. Again, I appreciate the attribution.