Here is a new Parthian Drachm I picked up from @arnoldoe. Mithradates II (121 - 91 B.C.) AR Drachm O: Long-bearded bust left wearing diadem. R: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ − ΒΑΣΙ − ΛΕΩΝ − ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ / ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ / ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ Archer (Arsakes I) seated right on throne, holding bow. Ekbatana mint. Struck 109-96/5 B.C. 4.13g 21mm Sellwood 27.2; Sunrise 294; Shore 86.
Tetradrachm of Mithradates II Rv. seated archer Seleukia on Tigris mint Sellwood 24.5 119-109 B.C. 15.93 grms 30 mm
Mat, don't get discouraged, I'm sure many CT members lose interest because of all the summer activities & vacations going on... Below is my only example of a drachm from Mithradates II, from the Ecbatana Mint.
Parthians are something I haven't got into yet. I only have one drachm: 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.
Sometimes there isn't a grand reason. I liked the coin when @arnoldoe had the coin listed for sale, waited to have some free $, made an offer & it was accepted. I also have been building a side collection of Parthians since @randygeki got one for me during a x-mas exchange one year & there haven't been any Roman tets in my price range that have piqued my interest. Still, have 1 Alexandrian Tet to share in time.
I look at it this way, when you share a coin here on CT it's like putting it in a knowledge bank. I don't know how many times I've googled research on a coin and and came across previous examples posted on CT. So, just because you don't get very many immediate responses it doesn't mean that the coin will not be appreciated ... eventually. BTW, nice coin.
Nice coins! Mithradates II drachms would be a fun area for study, since there are so many variants in the legends, especially with minor misspellings or incorrect letters. I've handled a few of these, but this was the one I selected for my collection:
@Mat thank you for posting - that is a GR8 Mithradates II. I'm lacking in Parthian coins and have just one: PARTHIA. Vologases VI, 208-228 AD. AR Drachm (3.41 gm). Bust wearing tiara / Arsakes enthroned holding bow, monogram 88. Shore.458. Sellwood.88.19 As an aside I'm probably one of those that hits the "Like" button too often rather than making a comment. I read the forum mostly on my phone and I tell myself after reading a post that I'll go back and make a comment later, but then, of course, later never comes. Please know I personally appreciate all the posts everyone makes as it does take time and effort and should be recognized even if it be a single word - NICE! TERRIFIC! AWESOME! - and I'll try to be more diligent in doing so. -d
@Mat - always happy to find a Parthian post - here's a favorite MII: Mithradates II 123-88 BC AR Drachm Obv: Bare-headed bust left with long beard wearing diadem earring visible Rev: Archer seater right on throne holding bow in both hands and arrow monogram 87 behind. Ref: Shore 79, Sellwood 26.3
I have an opinion on everything but I don't expect any to be majority opinions. On this, I prefer posts that either ask a question or provide information of potential interest in general. On Mithradates II, for example, mention culd have been made of the fact that not all his coins have the same style portrait and a suggestion could be made for others to show coins, perhaps, illustrating this or coins that have been reclassified since Sellwood or coins of a mint other than the one shown orrrrr anything beyond 'here it is'. Finn posted what I would consider a good first post: To this, I would have posted my favorite M II drachm and commented that his coin had a particularly strong torq (as does Sulla's coin and yours). My torq coin has been shown here so many times that anyone who cares probably has it memorized. Below is a very different Mithradates II which was sold to me as overstruck on a Roman Republican denarius. I see noise in the fields but do not recognize the undertype if there is one. I bought it during my first Parthian interest phase. Now I am finishing up on my third phase caused by buying the Sunrise Collection book when it went on sale recently. I am unresponsive to posts giving nothing more than a dozen catalog numbers and rarely provide numbers on my posts. My experience suggests numbers will be copied by some people even though their coin is completely different. People who want catalog numbers for my coins can look them up. (I believe the second one is Sellwood 28.3. I wuld like to hear if I'm wrong but I would really rather hear if anyone recognizes the undertype.) Online resources can be used by those with no library. Sellwood and Shore are both expensive in the used market so careful lifting of ID's from CNG sales strikes me as OK unless you are planning to be a Parthian specialist. I don't know enough about Parthian to be dangerous and half of what I learned reading Sellwood and Shore seems to have been changed. Perhaps I should have just shut up and posted a +1 to TIF's post that says what I intended to say here but is very much more succinctly crafted.
Now that we are getting into torqs (torques?). I have to bring out this Orodes II that I bought primarily for it's super-torq dragon-style ending. Parthian kings wore torques (neck jewelry) which may be spiral and end in a bead, volute, head or head and torso (protome) of an animal, e.g. a seahorse. Parthian neckwear is one of those details that I start to see as interesting - probably a disorder that comes from looking at too many Parthian coins. Although I picked up this next one more for the "eagle with wreath" and interesting portrait than the neckwear - it also is an example of another type (segmented necklet): I should add that I think on my earlier coin the torque is described as "griffin-ended".
Mithradates II was king from 123-88 BC. That's a long time and his portraits changed over time. I have Sear 24, 26, and 28. I wonder if the chronological order was determined by the length of his beard? Sellwood 24.9. 20-18 mm. 3.41 grams. Sellwood 26.2 Ecbatana. 22-21 mm. 4.20 grams. This one has a torque with something on the end. Sellwood 28.7 Rhagae. 18 mm. 4.20 grams. Are their beards this long on any Roman coins? Greek portrait coins? Mithradates II was known as "Mithradates the Great" or "Great Mithradates." The word for "Great" is better translated as "Top". Including the initials of his other names, Zoroaster son of Zoroaster, he was really "ZZ Top Mithradates." [I'm joking.]
HA! You know that is somehow going to become numismatic fact though . https://www.cointalk.com/threads/just-for-fun-totally-looks-like-thread.238718/