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Drachm - Shapur I type IIc/Ic
| Issuer | Sasanian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 240-270 |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Bust of Shapur I facing right, depicted with a full curled beard and elaborate coiffure with hair dressed in large globular locks. The king wears a distinctive korymbos headdress — a large inflated orb of hair enclosed within a diadem — surmounted by a mural crown with crenellations and a Sasanian eagle or finial at the apex, with long ribbons or diadem ties falling behind. He is draped in royal attire with a beaded necklace visible at the collar. The legend in Pahlavi script encircles the bust within a beaded border, reading: mazdēsn bay Šābuhr šāhān šāh Ērān kē čihr az yaz(a)dān ('The Mazda-worshipping Lord, Shapur, King of Kings of the Iranians, whose essence is from the gods'). |
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| Reverse script | Pahlavi |
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| Additional information |
Shapur I spent much of his reign at war — two campaigns against Rome produced the capture of Emperor Valerian in 260 AD, the only time a sitting Roman emperor was taken prisoner in battle. The coinage issued across this period reflects a mint system still finding its administrative footing; the type IIc/Ic classification in Göbl's scheme distinguishes die combinations from what was likely a centralized royal mint, probably at Ctesiphon, producing silver on a weight standard inherited from Parthian practice rather than yet reformed to a distinctly Sasanian one.