Description
Country or authority: Abbasid governors of Tabaristan
Year or date range: Circa AD 780–793; individual issue year unresolved
Denomination: Hemidrachm
Composition: Silver
Ruler or portrait: Anonymous issue; Sasanian-style royal portrait derived from Khosrow II
Mint or mintmark: Tabaristan — TPWRSTAN
Catalogue references: Album, Checklist of Islamic Coins, 3rd edition, 73
Obverse description: Crowned, bearded bust right with ornamented drapery, winged crown and star-in-crescent above. Pahlavi legends read as GDH behind and AFZWT before the bust; marginal inscriptions read as NYWKW and APD. Double circular border with marginal star-and-crescent ornaments.
Reverse description: Fire altar on stepped base between two facing attendants with vertical implements. A pellet appears on either side of the flames. Pahlavi mint inscription TPWRSTAN to right; date inscription [unresolved] to left. Triple circular border, with marginal crescent ornaments and groups of three pellets.
