Photos Are Part of the Description
Please review all photos carefully. For used, vintage, collectible, and one-of-a-kind items, the images help show condition, wear, markings, and included details.
Buyer Confidence
Buy With Confidence from SalarsNet
- •Actual item photos are included so you can inspect details before buying.
- •Condition notes are written carefully based on visible wear and available information.
- •Used, vintage, and collectible items may show normal age-related wear.
- •Questions are welcome before purchase.
Human Help
Want Me to Check Something First?
Need another photo, measurement, closeup, copyright page check, or other detail confirmed before you order? Contact me before purchase and I will do my best to help.
Condition Guide
How I Describe Condition
Used and vintage items are described based on visible wear, photos, age, markings, and available details. See the Condition Guide for the terms I use.
Authenticity Policy
What I Do and Don’t Claim
I avoid unsupported claims about authenticity, grading, rarity, provenance, or investment value. If a detail is uncertain, I say so plainly.
Questions before purchase are welcome. Seller contact, shipping details, and return terms are published before checkout.
The First Kings of Chess: Silver Coins of the Sasanian Dynasty (album)
Description
The Book of Kings, the epic poem by the tenth century Persian poet Ferdowsi, contains the following passage on the origins of chess:-One day an ambassador from the king of Hind arrived at the Persian court of Khusru, and after an oriental exchange of courtesies, the ambassador produced rich presents from his sovereign and amongst them was an elaborate board with curiously carved pieces of ebony and ivory. He then issued a challenge: "Oh great king, fetch your wise men and let them solve the mysteries of this game. If they succeed my master the king of Hind will pay tribute as an overlord, but if they fail it will be proof that the Persians are of lower intellect and we shall demand tribute from Iran." The courtiers were shown the board, and after a day and a night in deep thought one of them solved the mystery and was richly rewarded by his delighted sovereign.-Thus was the Indian game chaturanga imported to Iran, where it would begin its evolution into today’s chess—a word derived from the Persian word shah.-Khusru and his two successors, Hormizd IV and Khusru II, presided over the Second Golden Age of the Sasanian Empire. The Sasanian kings were known for the elaborateness of their crowns. Some historians believe that the first chess pieces carved in the Sasanian Empire were the kings, whose ornate crowns were based on those worn by Khusru and his successors—as seen on these remarkable silver coins.
Packaging: deluxe album.
Images are representative of the type and general grade. The date, mint, color, toning, and exact coins received may vary unless the listing explicitly says the actual lot is shown.