Yazdgird (Yazdgard) I, Sasanian King AD 399-420

Sunrise # 904 (this coin), SNS Type Ib2/1a, Gobl Type I/1, Superb Extremely Fine

Mint: LWDY (Rev Ardashir or Rayshahr, both on the northern coast of Persian Gulf).

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This is one of the most spectacular and rarest examples of the silver drachms of Yazdgird I. This is known to collectors as the “two line legend” variety as the legend around the image on the obverse is written fully and without abbreviation, making it too long to complete in one circle. As mint centers, both Rev Ardashir and Rayshahr were major hubs for ships coming from India and the far east. Rev Ardashir was destroyed in the Arab invasion of the 7th century AD but was replaced with the new town of Bushehr or, as the British forces called it in the 19th century, “Bushire”. The city was a major commercial hub for Persia in trade beween various kingdoms of the Persian Gulf and overseas. The British navy captured the port as a bargaining chip in negotiations to force Persia to give up all claims on Afghanistan in the 1870s.