Measurements: Dia. 2.8 cm, W. 3.9 g
Period: Tang dynasty (618-907)
Provenance: Unearthed from the Tang tomb at the Mang Hill, the north suburb of the old city of Luoyang in 1955.


Being roughly circular in shape, the bust of a king on the obverse side faces the left side, encircled by a ring of beads on the border;  in the center of the reverse side is a alter which is flanked by two priests, on the alter is a plate, on which stacked up 10 ball-like articles, flanked by star and the crescent moon with outer beaded border. Persian words were seen behind the two priests on the reverse side and in front and behind the bust, the words and the figures suggest that the coin was likely minted by the Persian Sassanid Empire.

As the currency in circulation between Central Asia and West Asia at that time, Persian silver coins were not only the historical witness of Luoyang which was the commercial hub of the Silk Road, and its trading with countries in the western regions in the period, but also reflected the  cultural exchanges between the Central Plains and the Western Regions in the Sui and Tang times.