The drachm was the Sasanian silver coin used widely across the Persian Empire.
Sasanian rulers issued mainly silver drachms, which became a foundation of the empire’s monetary system from the third to the seventh century CE. These coins usually showed the reigning king’s bust on the obverse and a Zoroastrian fire altar flanked by attendants on the reverse.
Sasanian drachms were large, thin coins and circulated far beyond the empire’s borders. Their designs and weight standards influenced coinage in neighboring regions, including parts of Central Asia and the early Islamic world.
The drachm should not be confused with the gold daric, an Achaemenid coin associated with earlier Persian rulers. A siglos was also an Achaemenid silver coin, while the denarius was a Roman denomination. These belong to different monetary systems and periods.