This coin is interesting example of how religious imagery may be used to satisfy a political agenda. The inscription written in Middle-Persian and encircling the image of Ardashir I, the founder of the Sassanian dynasty, describes him as a faithful worshipper of Ahura. The analogy implicit in this identification of an earthly ruler with the Zoroastrian supreme deity is the message that Ardashir's authority would mirror that of Ahura Mazda, god of righteousness and wisdom.

It is only through images on coins such as this that we are able to piece together how Zoroastrian places of worship might have looked. Herodotus recorded that the Persians had no temples, but Zoroastrian places of worship did in fact exist. Such a shrine was known as a chahartaq, and consisted of a small square building with an entrance in each wall. The center of the temple was dominated by an altar supporting a sacred flame, and the altar depicted on this coin may well illustrate the interior of just such a worship place.