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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 3576374, member: 81887&quot;]Another of my auction wins that I am writing up when I get the chance:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]953569[/ATTACH] </p><p>Characene.&nbsp; AE tetradrachm (26 mm, 15.88 g).&nbsp; Maga (late 2nd-early 3rd century AD).&nbsp; Obverse: Head right with pointed beard and hair in rolls, Aramaic inscription around given in catalogues as Ma&#039;ga z&#039;l Astab&#039;laz Malka (Maga, son of King Athabiaos).&nbsp; Reverse: Draped bust right with pointed beard, wearing diadem and tiara, uncertain legend around.&nbsp; BMC 16, Alarm 510, Sear Greek Imperial 5932.&nbsp; This coin: Pars Coins Auction 1 (April 8, 2019), lot 139.</p><p><br /></p><p>Characene was a Parthian vassal kingdom, located along the lower Tigris River where it empties into the Persian Gulf.&nbsp; The capital city was called Charax Spasinou, named after the founder of the kingdom, Hyspaosines.&nbsp; Unfortunately, very little is known about the history of the kingdom; even the names of many of the kings are known only from their coins.&nbsp; The coinage consists mainly of tetradrachms, which start out as good silver but degrade to billon and finally pure bronze in the later issues.&nbsp; The Maga who issued this coin seems to be the final coin-issuing king of Characene.&nbsp; I bought this coin because it fits in well with my collection of Parthian and Parthian-related coins, as Characene was a vassal to the Parthians.&nbsp; Also, the portraits (especially the one I called the obverse) have a pleasing but simple, almost cartoonish artistic aspect that I enjoy.&nbsp; Please share your coins of Characene below (if you have any- this seems to be an unpopular collecting area).[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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