A Coin Tour, From Daric to Lion and Sun
Caption
A coin tour from daric to lion and sun. Achaemenid gold, Parthian and Sasanian silver, a Qajar calligraphy coin and a Pahlavi gold coin. One word travelled with them: Greek drachma, Middle Persian drahm, dirham. #Coins #Numismatics #Persia
Short takes
The daric: Achaemenid gold, about 8.4 g, with the king as archer. One daric equalled 20 silver sigloi, and its name probably comes from Old Persian dari-, “golden”.
Sasanian drachms carry a fire altar with two attendants and Middle Persian lettering. Khosrow I’s taxes were counted in drahms.
One coin word travelled two thousand years: Greek drachma, Middle Persian drahm, dirham.
Image description
Infographic titled A Coin Tour, From Daric to Lion and Sun. Five round coin photographs run across the page under era labels: an Achaemenid gold daric showing the king as archer, a Parthian silver drachm with a king in a tiara, a Sasanian silver drachm with a fire altar, a Qajar silver coin with calligraphy, and a Pahlavi gold coin with the lion and sun. Each has a short description. A bottom bar reads drahm and traces the word from Greek drachma to Middle Persian drahm to dirham.
