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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 2948144, member: 81887&quot;]Here is (almost certainly) the last coin to be added to my collection in 2017:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]719556[/ATTACH] </p><p>Indo-Parthians in Margiana or Sogdiana.&nbsp; 1st century AD.&nbsp; AR drachm.&nbsp; Obverse: Imitation of portrait of the Parthian king Vardanes I (40-45 AD), c/m of a different bearded bust left (resembles Phraates IV on a bad day?).&nbsp; Reverse: Imitation of standard Parthian seated archer reverse with blundered pseudo-legend, some flatness due to c/m on other side.&nbsp; Sellwood 91.14.&nbsp; VAuctions Sale 328 (Triskeles 22), lot 203.</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin comes from the eastern part of the Parthian empire, where eastern Iran meets central Asia, although the exact location of its manufacture is unknown, hence the weaselly &quot;Margiana or Sogdiana&quot; which covers a huge swath of territory.&nbsp; Local rulers in this eastern borderland (whether they owed nominal fealty to the Parthian king, or merely wanted to advertise on a convenient medium) often counterstruck Parthian drachms of the 1st century BC, either with a small face (several distinct varieties known) or with a tamgha symbol.&nbsp; Starting with Phraates IV, there were also local imitations of Parthian coins struck in this area, which were then countermarked as before.&nbsp; A few coins were even made that saved a step, by engraving the &quot;countermark&quot; directly into the die!&nbsp; This imitation of Vardanes I seems to be the last Parthian-imitative type made in the region prior to the extensive bronze coinage issued in the name of Sanabares and his successors.&nbsp; This countermarked Eastern series is extensive enough that Sellwood devoted an entire type (91) in his catalogue of Parthian coins.&nbsp; This is a reasonably nice specimen of the type, and at $80 was not particularly expensive.</p><p><br /></p><p>I hope you&#039;ve enjoyed this coin, and the many other coins I&#039;ve posted during the year. Right now it&#039;s looking like my coin budget is going to be tight during 2018, so I won&#039;t have as many new toys to show off, but I will try to get around to photographing some of the coins already in my collection that I haven&#039;t shown here yet.&nbsp; They&#039;ll be new to you, even if they&#039;re not recent purchases.&nbsp; Meanwhile, post your Indo-Parthians here, or whatever else seems related.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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