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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 2015340, member: 19463&quot;]The Baltimore show provided two Parthian drachms that are very different from each other.&nbsp; One, I may not have identified correctly.&nbsp; For that matter, I&#039;m not terribly sure anyone is absolutely certain of the ID on that one.&nbsp; The second is the easiest to identify of all Parthian coins.&nbsp; One is fully clean; the other is quite toned.&nbsp; One might be welcome in many collections while the other makes me wonder if I should have left it. </p><p>[ATTACH=full]363550[/ATTACH]</p><p>The seller and I were not certain of the ID for this coin.&nbsp; Separating Artabanus III from Artabanus II is not something of which I am sure.&nbsp; Shore gives the hint that III had a longer beard and greater tendency to corrupt legends.&nbsp; I liked the huge, baroque flan and the low price.&nbsp; I&#039;d prefer it were Artabanus III.&nbsp; Opinions?</p><p><br /></p><p>A Parthian I had been wanting for quite some time is this drachm of Vonones I (8-12 AD).&nbsp; Unlike most Parthian rulers, Vonones put his actual name on the coin (both sides!) instead of the dynastic name Arsakes.&nbsp; Instead of the standard seated archer reverse, this coin has Victory walking.&nbsp; The only thing I do not like about the coin is the extreme cleaning it has received. </p><p>[ATTACH=full]363549[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The best thing about Vonones I coins to me are the (Greek) legends on the reverse.&nbsp; Starting at the top and working clockwise, it reads King Vonones Conqueror of Artabanus.&nbsp; The obverse simply reads King Vonones.&nbsp; The final lunate sigmas both lay down a bit strangely but the coin is as easy to read as Parthians get.&nbsp; Part of the reason for these differences was certainly that Vonones had been a hostage in Rome for many years and was probably more Roman in many ways than Parthian.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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