Hey guys! Just thought id share this little gem with you. My first Parthian coin won in a recent CNG auction. Also, if you have em, post your Parthians! Orodes ii drachm ca 57-38 B.C. 20.5 mm
That's a nice looking parthian! Congrats on your first! My first Parthian was also an Orodes II, a gift from a coin buddy.
@DBDc80 : Nice OP coin, it is from the Ecbatana mint (modern Hamadan, Iran). @chrsmat71 : Another nice drachm, but your coin is of Orodes I (c. 90-77 BC), not Orodes II. (Actually, I think this is one of the types that has recently been reassigned, but most dealers would still list it as Orodes I.) I do have one or two Parthian coins , just to be different I will post a bronze:
That’s a pretty stag, Parthicus. I do like Parthian bronzes very much, but they are hard to find in good condition.
This is the problem with Parthians for beginners. ID changes get presented making hundreds of dollars worth of references obsolete. Sometimes the changes are explained and sometimes they just show up with 'trust me' until someone else does a revision. It is rather like the English pennies marked Henry or Edward. When I bought them, the coins below were Orodes I (first 2) and Orodes II (Susa mint) to the best of my ability to tell. I have not kept up. The OP coin is a excellent strike on a great flan.
Very nice OP coin! Congratulations. I have two with nice provenance. The first comes from Fred Shore, author of Parthian Coins and History, Ten Dragons Against Rome. KINGS OF PARTHIA. Gotarzes I, 95-87 BC AR drachm, 20mm, 4.2g, 12h. Obv.: Diademed bust left, wearing tiara ornamented with horn and row of stags around top, neck torque ends in pellet. Rev.: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ ΘΕΟΠΑΤΡΟΥ ΝΙΚΑΤΟΡΟΣ; Arcaces I seated right on throne, holding bow. Reference: Shore 110ff. From the Collection of Fred Shore The second comes from Kerry Wetterstrom, creator and publisher of the Celator, and numismatist at CNG... KINGS OF PARTHIA. Gotarzes II, c. AD 40-51 AR Drachm, 21mm, 3.3g, 12h; Ecbatana mint. Obv.: Bust left, beard cut away to triangular shape on coin, wearing double banded diadem with double loop, earring visible, dotted border. Rev.: Archer enthroned right, monogram below bow, seven line inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩN ΑΡΣΑΚΟY EYEPΓETOY ΔΙΚΑΙΟY ΕΠIΦΑNOYΣ ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝΟΣ , stylised. Reference: Sellwood 65.33; Shore 364. Ex-Kerry Wetterstrom
Great first capture @DBDc80 ! Congrats... CNG is a great source. My only Parthians: Parthia 177-138 BCE AR Drachm Diademed draped bust Mithradates I left bashlik - archer seated on omphalos Sellwood 10.1 Parthia Mithradates III 58-55 BCE AR Drachm 3.9g 20mm Rhagae mint star archer bashlyk throne bow Selwood 41-12 PARTHIA Orodes II 57-37 BCE AR Drachm 18mm 3.3g - killed Crassus pour gold - Ekbatana l stars cresnt Arsakes bow anchor Sell48.9
Very nice Parthian drachm you got there - I really enjoy these, though I only have a few. A while back Valentinian posted a Parthia Identifier website that is really easy (and fun) to use. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/parthian-drachm-identifier.303447/#post-2862394 As Doug pointed out above, the exact attribution of these is quite squirrelly and tends to change over time. Here is one of mine:
Welcome to the "Ancient Forum's Order of the Friends of Parthia" ! Just kidding! But welcome! The Parthians created some beautiful coins. I need to concentrate more on my Parthian sub-collection! I'm very fortunate to have a few coins from this awesome and fascinating kingdom. Here are mine along with a virtual earring design. I must check with @Parthicus and @Bob L. to make sure that I have these attributed correctly! Just kidding! I would never drill a hole in such a beautiful coin!
One bit of advice for those purchasing Parthian drachmas. Be careful to check the reverses. There is a separate coinage from the Kingdom of Persis whose obverses are very, very similar to those of Parthia. On the Persis pieces the inscriptions at in Aramaic, not Greek.
While I agree we all need to be careful and check reverses, I never thought of coins of Persis being easy to confuse with Parthians. 99% of Parthian drachms used the archer seated reverse (there was a bit more variety on the larger tetradrachms and much more on the bronzes). The oddball Parthian is below. Fortunately it is 'open labeled' with the king's name spelled out on both sides. How 'Roman' of him. Using the link: Head facing left Wearing on head: diadem Straight line head-top above the diadem Short hair, tapering beard Legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΟΝωΝΗΣ Reverse Legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΟΝωΝΗΣ ΝΕΙΚΗΣΑΣ ΑΡΤΑΒΑΝΟΝ Mint: different, see sub-types below Sub-types 60.5 Nike walking right, in front . Mint: Ecbatana That Vonones was a bit different is attributed to the fact that he was raised in Rome as guest/hostage of Augustus to insure the good behavior of his father Phraates IV. When he became king, he lacked the personality traits that would allow him to get along with the Parthian nobility. I find it a bit odd that Augustus thought a Parthian might change his behavior to save a son. They tended to have plenty of spares and often seemed willing to kill each other within the family.
