On the occasion of my picking up only my 10th Parthian fraction (thank you, Parthicus!), I thought I’d provide some information about these issues, and post my group. The few short paragraphs I’ve written, below, literally constitute more information about Parthian fractions than I’ve ever seen compiled online…there’s a serious dearth of available information about them. Parthian silver fractions consist of obols (typically around 11mm, approximately 0.6 gm, and equivalent to 1/6 of a drachm or 8 chalkoi, the base metal coins used for “small change”), diobols (around 12mm, approximately 1.4 gm), and hemidrachms or triobols (of which I own none; around 14mm, approximately 2 gm, equivalent to three obols or half a drachm). While the 0.6 gm standard for the obols seems to have been tightly monitored and respected (most seem to be within +/- 0.1 gm of that standard), there is considerable variance in the weights of the diobols, which can deviate as much as 0.5 gm from their 1.4 standard. Hemidrachms/triobols may vary as well, but typically no more than +/- 0.2 gm from their 2 gm standard. Parthian fractions carry on the iconographic tradition of the drachms. That is, obverses feature the bust of the current (issuing) king wearing a bashlyk or diadem (earlier issues) or tiara (later issues), with a seated archer reverse. The notable exception to the rule for reverses is the Mithradates I obol (Sellwood types 12.4 and 12.5), which features a bust of the king’s brother Bagasis for the reverse. While Parthian drachms are generally common and tetradrachms fairly common (depending on the type, of course), the fractional silver denominations are harder to come by since they were minted in significantly smaller quantities. Thus all Parthian silver fractions are considered scarce or rare – although exactly how rare depends on the particular issue. The initial fractional issue was a hemidrachm/triobol of Parthia’s first king, Arsakes I, 247 – 211 BC. After Arsakes’ rule, fractions were only issued intermittently by some kings, and only up to the reign of Pakoros II (78 – 105 AD). During that span of intermittent minting of fractional denominations there was a period of more than a century, between the reigns of Orodes II (57 – 38 BC) and Vologases I (51 – 78 AD), that no obols, diobols, or hemidrachms were issued at all. For the remaining 120 or so years of the empire’s existence after Pakoros II, no silver fractions seem to have been issued. Many Parthian fractions are identified in David Sellwood’s The Coinage of Parthia (2nd edition, 1980). However, nine years after the publication of the second (and last) edition of that book, Sellwood documented seven additional types based on a new (early 1980s) hoard from the Iranian province of Fars, an area that in antiquity had belonged to Persis. Persis was among the group of semi-autonomous kingdoms located in the territories controlled by Parthia. All of these newly discovered Parthian fractions were minted in Persis between the mid-first century and early second century AD. Sellwood’s catalog of the new discoveries was published in 1989, in the Numismatic Chronicle #149. Prices for Parthian silver fractions vary greatly based on type, condition, degree of rarity and, of course, provenance, but many can be picked up for under $200 – and some significantly lower than that. I got my holed Mithradates I obol below, for example, for just $30. (One from the same set of dies, however, is currently included in CNG Sale 105 with an estimate of $300) My winning bid for the Orodes II obol, below, was $60 – pretty reasonable considering its R1 rarity rating from Shore. The chipped Mithradates I obol with the right-facing bust – which was purchased directly from Pieter van’t Haaff (author of the Catalogue of Elymaean Coinage) and is from his collection – was $70. Formerly this same coin was in the important Parthian collection of Robert Gonnella. It is documented at Parthia.com as PDC 39892. It’s not a pretty coin, but the price was decent given both the rarity of that issue and the important provenance. Some of the other coins below were, unfortunately for me, much more expensive. Due to the relatively low output of the fractions – and low numbers of extant examples – many are documented on study sites (ACSearch.info, Coinproject, Parthia.com, etc.). In addition, a number have passed through important Parthian collections at one point or another, such as the collections of Todd Ballen, David Sellwood, Robert Gonnella, Pieter van’t Haaff, Bellaria, Nisa, and - drum roll, please - Parthicus, whose extensive Parthian collection was just auctioned off. So the chances of owning a provenanced coin – or of having the nice surprise of chancing upon your coin posted online somewhere – is pretty decent with these. Mithradates I (Sellwood and Shore); Phriapatius to Mithradates I (Assar) obol, 171 - 138 BC Hekatompylos mint Sellwood 9.7 Mithradates I (Sellwood and Shore); Phriapatius to Mithradates I (Assar) obol, 171 - 138 BC (0.62 gm) Hekatompylos mint Sellwood 10.19 Ex-David Sellwood Collection Gotta love the nose! Mithradates I obol, 171 - 138 BC (9 mm, 0.49 gm) Ecbatana mint Sellwood 12.4 (The reverse here depicts Mithradates’ brother Bagasis) Ex-Van't Haaff Collection; Ex-Dr. Robert Gonnella Collection Orodes II obol, 57 – 38 BC (10 mm, 0.56 gm) Ecbatana mint Sellwood 48.15; Sunrise 385; Shore 265 Ex-Parthicus Collection Vologases I diobol, 51 - 78 AD (1.22 gm) Probably minted in Persis, which at the time was a subject kingdom of Parthia Sellwood “New Parthian Coin Types,” Numismatic Chronicle 149, 1989, type 1; Shore 379 This coin also listed at Parthia.com as PDC 8262 Vologases I diobol, 51 - 78 AD (13 mm, 1.19 gm) Probably minted in Persis, which at the time was a subject kingdom of Parthia Sellwood “New Parthian Coin Types,” Numismatic Chronicle 149, 1989, type 2; Shore 381 Ex-David Sellwood Collection Vologases I diobol, 51 - 78 AD (13 mm, 1.23 gm) Probably minted in Persis, which at the time was a subject kingdom of Parthia Sellwood “New Parthian Coin Types,” Numismatic Chronicle 149, 1989, type 2; Shore 381 Ex-Parthicus Collection Vologases II diobol, 77 - 80 AD (1.44 gm) Probably minted in Persis, which at the time was a subject kingdom of Parthia Sellwood “New Parthian Coin Types,” Numismatic Chronicle 149, 1989, type 3 variant (archer facing the wrong way! LOL!) This coin listed at https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1832576 and https://www.acsearch.info/media/images/archive/100/1897/1832576.m.jpg Pakoros II diobol, 78 - 105 AD Despite the Ecbatana monogram, probably minted in Persis, which at the time was a subject kingdom of Parthia Sellwood “New Parthian Coin Types,” Numismatic Chronicle 149, 1989, type 6; Shore 402 This coin also listed at http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=560213 and http://www.acsearch.info/images/57/560213.jpg Pakoros II diobol, 78 - 105 AD Despite the Ecbatana monogram, probably minted in Persis, which at the time was a subject kingdom of Parthia Sellwood “New Parthian Coin Types,” Numismatic Chronicle 1989, type 6; Shore 402
Well done, thank you for laying out the fractionals. I am always interested in them for exactly as you stated...harder to find.
great write up bob! i've bid on a couple of fractional coins and was shot down both times. still on the list however!
Very nice write-up @Bob L., and thanks for the shout-out! My current Parthian collection is just 16 coins, but it does contain one fractional silver, an obol of Orodes II, the same Sellwood 48.15 type as the one you won from me: (Apologies for the poor focus- these tiny coins are hard to photograph!)
That's a good write-up about Parthian fractions, it's a fascinating and intricate subject, thanks, Bob L. Glad to see you did not totally give up on Parthians, probably you have some nice ones left.
