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A scarce Parthian tetradrachm of Vonones I
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<p>[QUOTE="Parthicus, post: 7901840, member: 81887"][ATTACH=full]1364484[/ATTACH] </p><p>Parthian Kingdom. Seleukeia on the Tigris mint. AR tetradrachm 29 mm, 12.69 g). Vonones I (8-12 AD), dated Gorpiaios, 322 Seleukid Era (= August, 11 AD). Obverse: Diademed bust of king left, Greek legend around "Basileus basilewn Onwnes" (King of Kings Vonones). Reverse: Nike standing left, holding palm-branch and diadem, Greek legend around "Basilews basilewn/ Arsakou euergetou/ Dikaiou/ Epiphanous [philellenos]" (Of the King of Kings Arsakes, benefactor, illustrious, lover of the Greeks) ("philellenos" not visible on this specimen), date BKT (322) to left of Nike under diadem (weak on this specimen), in exergue month Gorpiaios. Overstruck on another coin (Sellwood 58 tetradrachm of Phraatakes and Musa), part of undertype visible on reverse. Sellwood 60.2. This coin: Private purchase from [USER=56976]@Bob L.[/USER] , ex CNG Auction 377, lot 185 (June 29, 2016).</p><p><br /></p><p>Vonones I was the eldest son of the Parthian king Phraates IV (38-2 BC). Around 10 or 9 BC, he and three of his brothers were sent to live at Rome. The Romans depicted this as "submission" of Parthia to Rome, but it also served to clear the way for Parthian succession by their much younger brother Phraatakes. In 2 BC, Phraatakes and his mother Musa murdered Phraates and seized the throne. That exciting tale of intrigue, murder, and incest deserves its own write-up, which I've given before ( <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/if-you-love-your-mother-so-much-why-dont-you-just-marry-her.350979/#post-3911792" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/if-you-love-your-mother-so-much-why-dont-you-just-marry-her.350979/#post-3911792">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/if...-dont-you-just-marry-her.350979/#post-3911792</a> ). After the overthrow of Phraatakes and Musa in 4 AD, the Parthian nobles installed a new king, Orodes III, in 6 AD. However, they soon afterwards got rid of him for "excessive cruelty" (and considering how cruel some of the other Parthian kings were, he must have been a monster if that was the reason for his downfall). The Parthian nobles now asked Rome for one of the sons of Phraates IV to be returned as their king, and Vonones was duly sent. Vonones, however, had become much too Westernized during his stay at Rome, and he no longer cared for the manly Parthian pastimes of hunting, feasting, and horsemanship. The nobles summoned another member of the royal Arsakid family, Artabanos (IV), who was serving as king of Media Atropatene (roughly modern Azerbaijan), who attempted to overthrow Vonones but initially failed. A couple of years later Artabanos tried again and this time successfully deposed Vonones, who fled to Armenia and served for a time as the Armenian king. Vonones was removed from the Armenian throne about 17 AD (the exact date varies by source) and remanded to the custody of the Roman governor of Syria. After he attempted to stir up trouble among tribal chiefs in the Mesopotamian frontier near Parthia, he was sent farther away, to Cilicia. In 19 AD he bribed his guards and attempted to flee back to Armenia, but he was killed before reaching the frontier. A son of Vonones, Meherdates, would later stage his own rebellion in Parthia in 49-51 AD.</p><p><br /></p><p>The coins of Vonones I stand out in the Parthian series for the king's unusual choice to list his full personal name in the legends, instead of just the dynastic name of Arsakes. This is a great boon to historians and numismatists, as it gives a solid anchor in the assignment of coin types to specific kings. His drachms break with the usual reverse depiction of a seated archer and standardized legends listing sonorous but meaningless titles, instead depicting Nike and the actually informative legend "Basileus Onones Neikesas Artabanou" (King Vonones, victorious over Artabanos):</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1364511[/ATTACH] </p><p>One other noteworthy fact is that the tetradrachms of Vonones I are usually found overstruck on coins of Phraatakes and Musa. On this specimen, the bust of Phraatakes is clearly visible on the reverse, adding to the appeal of this coin. Definitely an interesting and historical coin, and currently in first place as my favorite coin purchased in 2021. Please post your coins of Vonones I, or whatever else is related.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Parthicus, post: 7901840, member: 81887"][ATTACH=full]1364484[/ATTACH] Parthian Kingdom. Seleukeia on the Tigris mint. AR tetradrachm 29 mm, 12.69 g). Vonones I (8-12 AD), dated Gorpiaios, 322 Seleukid Era (= August, 11 AD). Obverse: Diademed bust of king left, Greek legend around "Basileus basilewn Onwnes" (King of Kings Vonones). Reverse: Nike standing left, holding palm-branch and diadem, Greek legend around "Basilews basilewn/ Arsakou euergetou/ Dikaiou/ Epiphanous [philellenos]" (Of the King of Kings Arsakes, benefactor, illustrious, lover of the Greeks) ("philellenos" not visible on this specimen), date BKT (322) to left of Nike under diadem (weak on this specimen), in exergue month Gorpiaios. Overstruck on another coin (Sellwood 58 tetradrachm of Phraatakes and Musa), part of undertype visible on reverse. Sellwood 60.2. This coin: Private purchase from [USER=56976]@Bob L.[/USER] , ex CNG Auction 377, lot 185 (June 29, 2016). Vonones I was the eldest son of the Parthian king Phraates IV (38-2 BC). Around 10 or 9 BC, he and three of his brothers were sent to live at Rome. The Romans depicted this as "submission" of Parthia to Rome, but it also served to clear the way for Parthian succession by their much younger brother Phraatakes. In 2 BC, Phraatakes and his mother Musa murdered Phraates and seized the throne. That exciting tale of intrigue, murder, and incest deserves its own write-up, which I've given before ( [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/if-you-love-your-mother-so-much-why-dont-you-just-marry-her.350979/#post-3911792']https://www.cointalk.com/threads/if...-dont-you-just-marry-her.350979/#post-3911792[/URL] ). After the overthrow of Phraatakes and Musa in 4 AD, the Parthian nobles installed a new king, Orodes III, in 6 AD. However, they soon afterwards got rid of him for "excessive cruelty" (and considering how cruel some of the other Parthian kings were, he must have been a monster if that was the reason for his downfall). The Parthian nobles now asked Rome for one of the sons of Phraates IV to be returned as their king, and Vonones was duly sent. Vonones, however, had become much too Westernized during his stay at Rome, and he no longer cared for the manly Parthian pastimes of hunting, feasting, and horsemanship. The nobles summoned another member of the royal Arsakid family, Artabanos (IV), who was serving as king of Media Atropatene (roughly modern Azerbaijan), who attempted to overthrow Vonones but initially failed. A couple of years later Artabanos tried again and this time successfully deposed Vonones, who fled to Armenia and served for a time as the Armenian king. Vonones was removed from the Armenian throne about 17 AD (the exact date varies by source) and remanded to the custody of the Roman governor of Syria. After he attempted to stir up trouble among tribal chiefs in the Mesopotamian frontier near Parthia, he was sent farther away, to Cilicia. In 19 AD he bribed his guards and attempted to flee back to Armenia, but he was killed before reaching the frontier. A son of Vonones, Meherdates, would later stage his own rebellion in Parthia in 49-51 AD. The coins of Vonones I stand out in the Parthian series for the king's unusual choice to list his full personal name in the legends, instead of just the dynastic name of Arsakes. This is a great boon to historians and numismatists, as it gives a solid anchor in the assignment of coin types to specific kings. His drachms break with the usual reverse depiction of a seated archer and standardized legends listing sonorous but meaningless titles, instead depicting Nike and the actually informative legend "Basileus Onones Neikesas Artabanou" (King Vonones, victorious over Artabanos): [ATTACH=full]1364511[/ATTACH] One other noteworthy fact is that the tetradrachms of Vonones I are usually found overstruck on coins of Phraatakes and Musa. On this specimen, the bust of Phraatakes is clearly visible on the reverse, adding to the appeal of this coin. Definitely an interesting and historical coin, and currently in first place as my favorite coin purchased in 2021. Please post your coins of Vonones I, or whatever else is related.[/QUOTE]
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A scarce Parthian tetradrachm of Vonones I
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