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Pashiz / Unit / Chalkous - Ardashir I type I/2 - Parthian style
| Issuer | Sasanian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 224-240 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A stepped fire altar with a rectangular body resting upon a tiered plinth occupies the central field, its top surmounted by stylised flames rendered as a cluster of radiating projections. Decorative ribbons or streamers hang from either side of the altar shaft, a motif emblematic of Zoroastrian sacred iconography on early Sasanian coinage. No attendant figures flank the altar, distinguishing this Type I/2 issue from later Sasanian reverse types that incorporate royal attendants. The entire design is enclosed within a beaded border. The composition is unlettered, consistent with the attribution to Group/Mint A (Stakhr) of the SNS Phase 2a classification. |
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| Mint | Stakhr (Mint A) |
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| Additional information |
Ardashir I's earliest copper issues are poorly understood precisely because they were never meant to outlast the conquest. Struck in the immediate aftermath of the defeat of Artabanus IV at the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224 AD, these coins were produced while Ardashir was still consolidating Persia — the Parthian stylistic conventions in the dies reflect not nostalgia but expediency: existing craftsmen, existing tools, a new name. The dynasty changed; the workshops didn't.
SNS Schaaf 3–5 encompasses genuine variation across the three referenced dies, and attribution can shift depending on flan shape and strike placement.