Sasanian Empire Drachm - Kavadh I, 488 – 531

Drachm from Sasanian Empire. Issued from 488 to 531. Struck in Silver (.900). Measures 28 mm and weighs 4.14 g.

Obverse

A bust of the king facing right. He wears a three-toothed crown with a crescent in front. On the high crown there is a vertical bar with a crescent fixed on it, and within it is globe which seems to be formed from separate tongues of flame. The bar is covered with a ribbon with the ends raised upwards. The crescent with a globe and the ends of the ribbons radiate from the ribbed rim. The diadem takes the form of two rows of points. There is a hair-globe on the nape of the king's neck, and a crescent above each shoulder. From behind his shoulders the ends of another ribbon, each with a six-pointed star, can be seen. There is a crescent with a star behind the rim symmetrically on the two sides and below. The horns of crescent are turned upwards. Pahlavi legend (Great Kavad)

Reverse

In the center there is an altar with a blazing fire. There is a six-pointed star to the left of the fire and crescent to the right. The column is covered by a ribbon whose ends point downwards. Figures of guards are schematically depicted on both sides of the altar. The headdress of figures going out from the pointed rim bordering the field of the coin.