Elemental Analysis of Elymais Coins from the Private Museum of Mohammad Saffar by PIXE Method

In this paper we have studied bronze and silver coins belonging to the Elymaean using PIXE analytical method to identify concentration of elements as well as chemical composition of metals to understand the number of mines and the number of mint. To achieve the above mentioned goals, we analyzed 35 coinages of Elymais dated to about (85 BC -224 AD). Results obtained indicated that percent proportion of main elements of coins such as silver and copper were differently used in the three periods of Elymaean and coins made in the first period have had more purity. Furthermore, the analyzed coins are minted in five mint centers and their primal raw materials were explored from three different sources. The statistical analysis was performed by using of SPSS software.