Drachm - Ardashir I

Ardashir I founded the Sasanian dynasty by defeating the last Arsacid king, Artabanus IV, at the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224 AD — ending nearly five centuries of Parthian rule. His early coinage underwent several distinct phases as the new administration worked out its iconographic and administrative program, and pieces from this specific phase reflect a mint practice already maturing into the regional standardization that would define Sasanian silver for the next four centuries.

The SNS PBW1 classification places this among the later issues of his reign, after the reconquest of territories stretching toward Roman Mesopotamia — a campaign that brought him into direct military conflict with Severus Alexander around 232–233 AD.