Drachm - Varhran V type I/1

Varhran V — known in Persian literary tradition as Bahram Gur, "the wild ass hunter" — came to power in 420 after a disputed succession that required him to prove his legitimacy before the assembled nobility, reportedly by seizing the crown from between two lions. His reign brought a notable shift in Sasanian monetary practice, with the Type I coinage consolidating mint output under tighter administrative control following the instability of his father Yazdegerd I's later years.

The .900 fine standard held consistently across this type, a disciplined specification given the concurrent pressures of war with Byzantium in 421-422 and ongoing frontier conflicts with the Hephthalites to the east.