Good evening everyone! Just thought id spread some more Parthian love with my new drachm of Sinatrukes. This coin, being my latest, was won in the Goldbergs pre Long Beach sale. Pretty sure i overpaid for this one. But the strike, nice deep tone, and overall quality of the coin were too good to pass up. Sinatrukes ruled Parthia, initially around 93 to 88 B.C. and again from 77 to 70 B.C. He was a son of Mithradates I (one of the greatest Parthian Kings). Sinatrukes waged war with Mithradates II (the great) and proclaimes himself king of kings in Susiana. Eventually, he was run out of town by the son of Mithradates II (Gotarzes) and was forced to flee into Asia. Some time later (with the help of the Saka, (which were one time enemies of the Parthians) he regained his throne, which he held until 70 B.C. There is even speculation that Sinatrukes was aided by the Romans, which, as we know, were archrivals of the Parthians. No doubt, securing this assistance for a tidy sum. This particular type was originally attributed to Gotarzes II, and it certainly looks like some of the latter tiara Mithradates II coins (as Mithradates was the father of Gotarzes). However, in time, experts have reattributed the type to Sinatrukes. Perhaps one of the inscriptions on the reverse which proclaims him as the "son of a deified father, and conqurer" may be the cause for the re-attribution, as the Parthian Empire expanded greatly under the reign of Mithradates I, but who knows. Anyways, here is the coin. As always, show your related Parthians for all to see! Sinatrukes 93-88 B.C. 77-70 B.C. AR drachm 4.03 gm Rhagai mint Goldbergs pre Long Beach sale lot 3167 Sellwood 33.4 Sunrise 302
Sinatrukes has the best hat in the series: "tiara decorated with taurine horn and duplex torque with stags"
Thanks for the write-up @DBDc80 , and congrats capturing your Sinatrukes! LOL, like Ed said, he does have a cool "hat". I have his daddy, and I liked his 'hat' because it is a little different form other Partian issues: Parthia 177-138 BCE AR Drachm Diademed draped bust Mithradates I left bashlik - archer seated on omphalos Sellwood 10.1
I have this one listed as Gotarzes. When shopping, you need to be aware that not everyone has bought or understands the new ID's. I have no inside knowledge on the matter but might say prices may vary according to which name you find on a coin. Buy for the hat, let the scholars settle on the separations. If the first and second reign coins are the same man, he aged during the 20 years. Imagine getting older looking in 20 years!
If you get only one Parthian coin you can't go far wrong with a Sinatrukes. I have one. The previous owner tried to improve it with a little plastic tomb: This was the first Parthian I ever purchased. I tried to get one with a clear portrait and stag decorations that looked somewhat stag-like instead of degenerating into meaningless lines. I really liked it and got a lot of compliments on it which inspired me to buy several more Parthians. Yet this is still the only one that gets compliments thus I should have stopped earlier. The inscription on this will be a variation of ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ ΘΕΟΠΑΤΡΟΥ ΝΙΚΑΤΟΡΟΣ ([Of the] Great King, Arsaces, whose father is a God, Victorious)
