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To participate in the forum you must log in or register. | Author |
 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,330 |
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New Member
4 Posts |
Dear all, This post may be somehow unusual and it requires a few lines of explanation. My daughter is in love with ancient history. This has always been a passion of hers since childhood, but since she's growing up, it may turn into something more in the future. As a father, I'd love to fuel this passion and encourage her. We recently went on a trip to Iran and she fell in love with the place, so I thought that gifting her a Sasanian coin may be a nice way to do so. I want her to own such an object to make her feel that history is a very real thing and it's very much with us. It's a token, if you will, a symbol to make her feel closer to her passions (and also a reminder of a nice trip with her dad!). The problem is that, since I am not an historian nor a coin collector, I don't know where to start. All I know is that: a) I don't want to buy her a fake coin. How sad will she be the day she finds out her first coin was a fake? b) I also don't want to buy her an expensive, collector object. She is just too young to appreciate that, and she may never will. I just want to gift her a token, a memento. An idea. And since it may go lost or whatever (we don't know if she'll be into history or not in the future!), the cheaper, the better. There will be time for more rare, expensive coins when she'll grow up, eventually. c) The coin should be nice looking. Since, as I said, she's quite young, a nice shiny silver coin, although quite common and perhaps of no interest to a serious collector, will surely make a better impression than a dull-looking but extremely rare old coin. Remember that we are talking of too young a person to really appreciate an ancient coin as a learned collector such as you are would do. On this background, I found some coins online that match my needs. Yet, I really can't distinguish a forgerie from a real coin and I have no clue of what a Sasanian coin is actually worth. A coin like this one but, if possible, less expensive, would be great: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/509876-C...202281587513Anyone here is willing to throw me a bone and suggest some coins, a price range, and/or some sellers (EU would be better)? We may be creating a brilliant historian here! :) Thank you all, All the best Edited by surici33
12/19/2018 07:41 am
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5242 Posts |
@surici33, we have a Sasaninian collector on the forum who should be able to advise you. 140 pounds seems a lot though. A year ago I got something as good as that (maybe not the same ruler) for $40 Can. That may have been a very good deal, but I do notice that some decent specimens are being sold on vcoins for well under $100 US.
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New Member
 4 Posts |
@oriole, thank you for your reply. Yes, 140 pounds is in fact too expensive for me. 40 dollars would actually be very much closer to what I have in mind. As I said, I am not looking for a collector item; the most common, least expensive coin would absolutely do the job for now; I just want to plant a seed helping her to "feel" history.
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
£140 is entirely too much for pretty much any Khusro II in any condition. His crude, early style drachms usually run about $20-30, and his later, finer style coins run about $30-50. As far as Sassanian rulers go, Khusro I, Hormizd IV, and Khusro II are by far the most plentiful and cheapest, but Khusro II is the prettiest and more historically significant of the three. If you have over $100 to spend and want only one coin that is attractive and significant to Iran/Persia specifically (most later coins were minted at provincial mints all over the middle east), I would recommend investing a little more and getting a coin of Shapur I, the second king of that empire. They can be had in this condition for about $150 and are more likely to fetch that much again if you ever need to sell it.  Shapur I was the eldest son of Ardashir, the founder of the dynasty and ruled from 240-270. During his reign, he (claims to have) killed Roman emperor Gordian III in battle, forced his successor Philip I into submission, and most famously took emperor Valerian I as a POW and used him as a footstool until he tired of the emperor's begging to ransom himself, and made Valerian swallow molten gold. His coins reflect the golden age of the empire, and capture the epitome of Sassanian art. Another favorite of mine is Peroz I, whose reign is similarly dramatic, but his coins are a whole lot cheaper, more in the $40-50 range  Peroz I ruled from 459-484 and spent most of his reign at war with the Huns. They capitalized on his excess of confidence, and inflicted humiliating defeats, capturing him and holding him ransom on two occasions, which nearly depleted the Sassanian treasury. The vast majority of Hunnic coins are imitations of the coins he used to pay his ransom, and imitations were still being made until the mid-1300s. Edited by Finn235
12/19/2018 10:10 am
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Valued Member
Canada
167 Posts |
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Moderator
United States
188770 Posts |
 to the Community! |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5242 Posts |
I commend the choice of this as a gift for your interested daughter. Whatever you decide to get, be sure to have it in a nice flip so that it can be taken out and held, carefully of course. There is nothing like having history in your hand, but we need to respect the artifact. Get one of those flips where you have the coin in one half and a nice description on the other half.
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Moderator
United States
34416 Posts |
Ron, since the OP is from Europe, what are your thoughts on trusted sellers on ma-shops as opposed to vcoins? It might be more convenient (and faster) if he was buying "local". I, for one, have had pretty good service from Ritter in Düsseldorf: https://www.ma-shops.com/ritter/?lang=en"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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New Member
4 Posts |
Dear all, thank you for your help. I really appreciate so many people taking the time to reply and share their insights. What a community! Considering all you said, I decided to go for a Khusro II coin. They seem to be affordable and very nice, just what I wanted. I could go for a more expensive coin - such as the ones Finn suggested (thank you by the way! They truly are beautiful) -, but at present my daughter is too young to appreciate the added value that comes from scarcity. There will be time for that when she grows up, eventually. On this background, I browsed all the websites you kindly suggested. I found some great coins on vcoins, but I would have to pay for shipping + customs, so I would end up paying double price. On the other hand, I found some good Khusro II on ebay from European sellers, but I would like to hear from you before pulling the trigger. In particular I like this one, it seems reasonably priced and in good condition. What do you think? It's kind of tilted, not flat, but I don't think that's an issue, is it? https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Drachm-Drac...Q:rk:27:pf:0I also like this one from Germany (buying 'local'), although I like the first one better: https://www.ma-shops.com/hanseaten/...2001&lang=enThank you all again. And yes, I'll definitely buy a flip Edited by surici33
12/20/2018 05:10 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1554 Posts |
Both of the coins you linked to are poor quality examples imho. You can do much better in the same price range. I suggest contacting Robert Tye, a UK dealer and numismatic author who probably has just what you're looking for at a very fair price. I believe his email is "info at earlyworldcoins dot com" (sorry, the forum doesn't allow formatted email addresses). Kudos for encouraging your daughter's interest in history!  Edited by Kushanshah
12/21/2018 03:54 am
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New Member
4 Posts |
@Kushanshah, and this is why I wanted to wait for an expert before buying! Thank you for your suggestion. I'll contact him right away and let you know.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,330 |
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Posted 12/19/2018 07:56 am
