Heritage World Coin Auctions
ANA Signature Sale 3041 Sess. 4 13 August 2015
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Ancients
SASANIAN KINGDOM. Varahran II (AD 276-293). AV dinar (22mm, 7.45 gm, 3h). Draped bust of Varahran right, wearing tiara with curved wing and korymbos, large brooch on right shoulder / Fire altar flanked by Varahran II (wearing winged tiara, left) and Shapur I or Varahran I (wearing mural or radiate crown, right), each holding scepter. Sunrise 765 variant (no pellet below altar). SNS type 1/1 variant (straight wings). Göbl type 1/1 variant (same). Extremely rare, this variety apparently unrecorded. A lovely specimen, well struck on a full flan with a detailed portrait. Choice Mint State. A grandson of Shapur I "The Great," Varahran II (also transliterated as Varhran, Vahram and Bahram) was one of the most active and prolific of the early Sasanian kings. His military activities were focused on the kingdom's eastern frontier, which we expanded into Afghanistan and Sakistan. This left the Romans a relatively free hand in the west; an invasion by Carus (AD 282-283) reached the outskirts of Cstesiphon, but the emperor's mysterious death led to a quick withdrawal and the Sasanians suffered no permanent loss of territory. Varahran was a devout Zoroastrian and persecuted the Manichaean sect ruthlessly, along with Christians, Jews, Hindus and Gnostics. His later coinage and several famous bas reliefs depict Varahran along with his wife and two sons. His early coinage in gold, featuring the king himself without relations, is exceedingly rare and seldom offered.
Estimate: 14000-16000 USD
SASANIAN KINGDOM. Varahran II (AD 276-293). AV dinar (22mm, 7.45 gm, 3h). Draped bust of Varahran right, wearing tiara with curved wing and korymbos, large brooch on right shoulder / Fire altar flanked by Varahran II (wearing winged tiara, left) and Shapur I or Varahran I (wearing mural or radiate crown, right), each holding scepter. Sunrise 765 variant (no pellet below altar). SNS type 1/1 variant (straight wings). Göbl type 1/1 variant (same). Extremely rare, this variety apparently unrecorded. A lovely specimen, well struck on a full flan with a detailed portrait. Choice Mint State. A grandson of Shapur I "The Great," Varahran II (also transliterated as Varhran, Vahram and Bahram) was one of the most active and prolific of the early Sasanian kings. His military activities were focused on the kingdom's eastern frontier, which we expanded into Afghanistan and Sakistan. This left the Romans a relatively free hand in the west; an invasion by Carus (AD 282-283) reached the outskirts of Cstesiphon, but the emperor's mysterious death led to a quick withdrawal and the Sasanians suffered no permanent loss of territory. Varahran was a devout Zoroastrian and persecuted the Manichaean sect ruthlessly, along with Christians, Jews, Hindus and Gnostics. His later coinage and several famous bas reliefs depict Varahran along with his wife and two sons. His early coinage in gold, featuring the king himself without relations, is exceedingly rare and seldom offered.
Estimate: 14000-16000 USD