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1 Drachm - Ardashir I
| Issuer | Sasanian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 226-228 |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | A stepped fire altar with two attendant figures (or lateral supports) flanking the base, shown in frontal view with flames rising from the altar top, all within a beaded border. A small pellet appears in the field before the altar, and a Pahlavi legend is inscribed to either side of the altar, identifying the king and his royal title. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Ardashir I struck these early drachms immediately after defeating the last Parthian king, Artabanus IV, at the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224 AD — effectively ending four centuries of Arsacid rule in a single engagement. The Sasanian coinage program that followed was a deliberate ideological break: where Parthian issues had grown increasingly debased and stylistically degraded, Ardashir's silver returned to a consistent standard and introduced a new fire altar reverse type that would anchor Persian royal coinage for the next four hundred years.
The Göbl II/2/2 classification places this among the earliest die pairings of the reign, before the portrait convention fully stabilized.