3 tiny Parthian Bronze

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Cyrrhus, Jan 23, 2016.

  1. Cyrrhus

    Cyrrhus Well-Known Member

    Dear All,

    I have 3 tiny Parthian Bronze, can anybody help with indentification?

    IMG_0079.JPG IMG_0080.JPG
     
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  3. chrsmat71

    chrsmat71 I LIKE TURTLES!

  4. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    I believe the upper right is Mithradates I Sellwood 8.2 but chrsmat beat me to it.
     
  5. Cyrrhus

    Cyrrhus Well-Known Member

    I hope Bob can help, me 750Usd for the cap coin, I know it is a rare one.
     
  6. Cyrrhus

    Cyrrhus Well-Known Member

  7. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    The upper left strikes me as a Mithradates III but I can't find an exact match with Pegasus that size. I stopped buying these when people started paying $750 for them so my skills are beyond rusty. Shore comments on the rarity of early AE and his Sellwood 8.2 is no better than yours so I suspect you are right about it being special. However the one below is full legend and much better in 2011
    http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=920209
     
  8. Cyrrhus

    Cyrrhus Well-Known Member

    Yes 750 is crazy, but the left one is really nice full legend..I will continue the search also...
     
  9. Pellinore

    Pellinore Well-Known Member

    The left two are Phraates IV. The upper two are quite good for the type.
     
  10. Bob L.

    Bob L. Well-Known Member

    I agree the upper right is a Sellwood 8.2/Shore 22, Mithradates I (Sellwood/Shore), Phriapatius (Assar). Congrats on that pickup!


    Upper left coin: The challenge here is the size...there are tetrachalkoi that fit the imagery/devices, but the size of your coin seems to suggest a smaller denomination. The reverse is really tight…I suppose the coin might still have been minted as a tetrachalkous, but on an unusually small flan. Tetrachalkoi with Pegasus reverses usually include more room to accommodate the legends, although there are probably exceptions to that rule.


    Tetrachalkoi dimensions do tend to range a bit, I believe. For example, I just saw a Parthian tetrachalkous at VCoins that is only 16mm. So, though perhaps unlikely, it still might have been intended as a Mithra III tetrachalkous (Sellwood 41.19) – which, I believe, is the one Doug was looking at. Another possibility is an Orodes II tetrachalkous (Sellwood 43.13), like this ex-CNG specimen:

    OrodPeg.jpg

    A third possibility is that it is a mule of a Phraates IV (c. 38 – 2 BC) dichalkous (Sellwood type 51) with a reverse from Orodes II (c. 57 – 38 BC) 43.13 tetrachalkous. (There are no documented Phraates IV types with a Pegasus reverse that I know of...at least I don't see them in Sellwood or Shore) This would explain, to some extent, the fact that the obverse die fits the flan better than the reverse.

    I can’t pin down the bottom one since the reverse is so well worn. I agree with Pellinore that the shape of the obverse portrait does resemble Phraates IV. So perhaps it could be tentatively attributed as Phraates IV (with a question mark). If, however, the reverse is an off-centered horse head (so hard to tell), that might exclude Phraates IV – unless it’s another mule or an undocumented type. Phraates III and Orodes II did issue AE’s with horse heads, Phraates III as S.38.27 (chalkous) and Orodes II as S.45.42-3 (dichalkoi) and S.47.40 (chalkous). It's a tough one for sure!
     
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2016
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  11. stevex6

    stevex6 Random Mayhem

    Wow, the "cap-coin" is very cool ... congrats, Cyrrhus

    [​IMG]
    cap coin a.JPG cap coin b.jpg

    ... I love both examples ...

    => a new wish-list coin!!


    :rolleyes:
     
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  12. Pellinore

    Pellinore Well-Known Member

    I have one of the Sellwood 8.2, too (17 mm 2,7 gr.). It's not easy to make a good picture, it doesn't scan well. In fact I'm planning to part with 18 of my 19 Parthian bronze coins, because it's very hard to find a decent one (like Stevex6's coin).
    I'm using this website for identifying. (I only have a Sellwood first ed., numbers have changed since).

    Sellwood 8.2.jpg
     
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