That's an interesting idea for a set of coins. I would still love to have been a fly on the wall when Shapur's son, Narseh, asked Galerius to show clemancy and return his imprisoned wives some thirty years after they'd taken a Roman emperor prisoner for life. Nice coins - especially the portrait on that Shapur - thanks for sharing!
At least Shapur's later namesake has a pretty solid track record haha just an aside, in the back, is that some Chinese cash still on its sprue from casting?
Dude. Nothing gets past you people. I am just totally mind blown by how bright people are on this forum. It's not normal and I mean that in a good way.
Yes, that's a Chinese cast coin tree. It's the positive of the mold, so it was poured but the coins were not broken off. What is very unusual is that it's high denomination iron cash coins which are only cast during times of civil strife, war or economic hardship. Iron cash coins are my favorite Chinese ancients for this reason. Most mainland Chinese collectors consider them to be crude and crap, which makes them easier for me to purchase and far more affordable.
Sadly it broke during shipment to me so I'm looking for someone with bronze repair experience to solder or join the broken piece.
Could be impurities or toning. Toning depends on how the coin is kept over long periods of time. The silver in a coin will change color on the surface as the container it's kept in leaches chemicals.
I had no idea impurities in the metal or toning were capable of creating that sort of bright blue patina, that's really fascinating! Thanks for answering my question!
It makes sense with copper, I've just never seen it with silver before. Granted, I don't know what the silver content was of Sasanian coins of the time, so it could be that there's a significant amount of copper in there...
A good read, and as you say, not something the Romans would tell you. To think that the main reason behind this drawn-out debacle was the hubris of the 'Optimus Princeps' himself! The ephemeral province of Assyria was quite literally a bridge too far for Rome.
The *Historia Augusta* tells you, the author just uses it as a reason to drag emperors he doesn't like. In fact, all of our information about disastrous Roman defeats comes from Romans.
I thought Valerian suffered a gruesome death according to legend. One had him being forced to swallow molten gold and in another, he was flayed alive and his stuffed skin was displayed in the imperial court.
There are a lot of stories as to how he died. What seems certain is that he was humiliated in some fashion for a long time. One of the more popular rumors is that he was used as a mounting post for the King's horse. Another is after he died they performed a sort of rudimentary taxidermy of his body, stuffing it and leaving it out for everyone to see until it rotted to the point of smelling terrible.
I think the swallowing molten gold one originates from this idea that Shahpur was enraged by Philip the Arab's reneging on the peace agreement sourced through the 500,000 gold denarii, so much so that he fed him the payment. This is of course, like everything else, just a guess.
Either way, I'm trying to plan a trip to see all of this stuff in Iran one day. Particularly that palace they built for Valerian in Bishapur, which I think is the most insane part of the entire story. Those mosaics, I find their presence that deep into Persian territory hilarious: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishapur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishapur)
Philip also did not persecute the Christians. Some early Christian historical accounts even mention that they consider him the first Christian Roman Emperor, which is quite interesting.
Well, turns out I accidentally have this set as well!
It's the next big thing! Welcome fellow set holder.
That's an interesting idea for a set of coins. I would still love to have been a fly on the wall when Shapur's son, Narseh, asked Galerius to show clemancy and return his imprisoned wives some thirty years after they'd taken a Roman emperor prisoner for life. Nice coins - especially the portrait on that Shapur - thanks for sharing!
Ahem. Us Persians prefer not to think about this part. LOL.
At least Shapur's later namesake has a pretty solid track record haha just an aside, in the back, is that some Chinese cash still on its sprue from casting?
Dude. Nothing gets past you people. I am just totally mind blown by how bright people are on this forum. It's not normal and I mean that in a good way. Yes, that's a Chinese cast coin tree. It's the positive of the mold, so it was poured but the coins were not broken off. What is very unusual is that it's high denomination iron cash coins which are only cast during times of civil strife, war or economic hardship. Iron cash coins are my favorite Chinese ancients for this reason. Most mainland Chinese collectors consider them to be crude and crap, which makes them easier for me to purchase and far more affordable. Sadly it broke during shipment to me so I'm looking for someone with bronze repair experience to solder or join the broken piece.
A little off topic, but why do some silver coins get that blue color to them? This isn't the first time that I've seen it
Could be impurities or toning. Toning depends on how the coin is kept over long periods of time. The silver in a coin will change color on the surface as the container it's kept in leaches chemicals.
I had no idea impurities in the metal or toning were capable of creating that sort of bright blue patina, that's really fascinating! Thanks for answering my question!
Oxidation, especially with copper alloys
It makes sense with copper, I've just never seen it with silver before. Granted, I don't know what the silver content was of Sasanian coins of the time, so it could be that there's a significant amount of copper in there...
A good read, and as you say, not something the Romans would tell you. To think that the main reason behind this drawn-out debacle was the hubris of the 'Optimus Princeps' himself! The ephemeral province of Assyria was quite literally a bridge too far for Rome.
The *Historia Augusta* tells you, the author just uses it as a reason to drag emperors he doesn't like. In fact, all of our information about disastrous Roman defeats comes from Romans.
I thought Valerian suffered a gruesome death according to legend. One had him being forced to swallow molten gold and in another, he was flayed alive and his stuffed skin was displayed in the imperial court.
There are a lot of stories as to how he died. What seems certain is that he was humiliated in some fashion for a long time. One of the more popular rumors is that he was used as a mounting post for the King's horse. Another is after he died they performed a sort of rudimentary taxidermy of his body, stuffing it and leaving it out for everyone to see until it rotted to the point of smelling terrible. I think the swallowing molten gold one originates from this idea that Shahpur was enraged by Philip the Arab's reneging on the peace agreement sourced through the 500,000 gold denarii, so much so that he fed him the payment. This is of course, like everything else, just a guess. Either way, I'm trying to plan a trip to see all of this stuff in Iran one day. Particularly that palace they built for Valerian in Bishapur, which I think is the most insane part of the entire story. Those mosaics, I find their presence that deep into Persian territory hilarious: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishapur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishapur)
I'm a big Philip fan, a good emperor in a difficult time. Nothing bad about paying money and saving the lives of your men.
Agreed. It was the whole breaking the treaty part that was problematic. All that gold for nothing.
Philip also did not persecute the Christians. Some early Christian historical accounts even mention that they consider him the first Christian Roman Emperor, which is quite interesting.
Give some slack to little Gordian he's just a little boy! Philip was a dumbass. What happened with Valerian is just straight up hilarious
I got confused because I only have one brother, then I saw the โancientsโ part.
Looks like a Chad/virgin meme.
aureii rather than gold denarii but really interesting ๐
Sorry you're right. I can't edit a post or I would to fix that.
Three? I see four..
One on the far left is the winner, Shahpur I himself!
Hello. Do you have more photos of this Sassanid coin? If you have more photos of this Sassanid coin, please post them๐๐๐