Why Did Sassanian Coins Have A Decrease In Artistry Over Time?

All coinage did, really. It was a slow process that really started with the rise of Rome as the world power. In ancient Greece, coinage was a symbol of status, so you put out bids to employ the best artist you could find to engrave your dies. That kind of economic pressure led to the flourishing of the schools of fine art. Under Rome, there was still a demand for art, but it increasingly took a back seat to output capacity. Augustus, Nero, and to a lesser extent Trajan and Hadrian took an interest in the artistry of their coins, but the rest only cared for a photorealistic bust and a clear propaganda message on the reverse. Things got worse after the Crisis, and the workmanship of the busts started to suffer. That continued until it all fizzled out in the 5th century.

The Sassanians probably started out pulling under-employed artists from the Roman East... that is really the only explanation I can think of for why the coinage of Ardashir and Shapur is so much better than the Parthians had done in centuries. Shapur was followed by a civil war, then Carus and the rest started laying on the hurt - the workmanship declines, but only gets really bad after Peroz, who emptied the state treasury to ransom himself and his sons from the Hephthalites.

Fascinatingly, for a little bit in the 6th/7th centuries, some of the most artistically advanced coins came from Central Asia!

This is probably my favorite, a semi-anonymous drachm of "Napki Malka" or Nezak-King, minted around 600-700 AD.

As Finn states Rome had a lot to do with it, as a new empire the Sasanians wanted to impress the outside world. So what better way to do that was in the design and beauty of their coinage. A lot of effort was put into their design. As time progressed the style of the coins changed and the workmanship declined a bit.

Fast forward to Khurso II, his early coinage was very crude and not much effort was put into their design and strike. Over time the appearance of his coinage became much better and at the end of his rule they were works of art. The empire started to decline again and the coinage appearance showed that decline. Yazdagard III was the last true Sasanian emperor, but even though the empire was coming to an end his coins are not bad in detail and strike.

Great thread and history lesson. Much appreciated