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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 8419193, member: 81887&quot;]Hi [USER=116907]@Mammothtooth[/USER] , In another thread you asked for more information about this coin.&nbsp; I didn&#039;t want to crowd that thread, but here&#039;s a bit of info:</p><p><br /></p><p>Your coin is indeed a Parthian silver drachm.&nbsp; Unfortunately it was struck during what historians have called the &quot;Parthian Dark Ages&quot;, which is a period for which we have even less information than usual about Parthian history, making coin attribution even harder.&nbsp; (Most Parthian kings did not include their personal name on their coins, using only the dynastic title Arsakes.)&nbsp; Your coin is Sellwood 31.6- attributing Parthian coins to the correct Sellwood catalog number is crucial, given the often-changing understanding of who issued which coin.&nbsp; (This is one reason I don&#039;t like slabbing of Parthians- that crucial info is nowhere on the slab.)&nbsp; This type was formerly attributed to the king Orodes I, with a reign of c. 90-80 BC.&nbsp; However, the most recent work, by G.R.F. Assar, has indicated that there was actually a king Mithradates III, who reigned c. 87-80 BC, and Orodes I reigned instead c. 80- 75 BC.&nbsp; (Note that this new &quot;Mithradates III&quot; forces a renumbering of some later kings- the brother of Orodes II, who briefly co-ruled with his brother c. 57-54 BC, is now Mithradates IV instead of his former designation of Mithradates III.&nbsp; See why we need Sellwood numbers to keep track?)</p><p><br /></p><p>So, your coin was (according to the latest ideas) struck by Mithradates III, c. 87-80 BC.&nbsp; This variety, with an 8-pointed star in the tiara, is thought to be from the mint at Rhagae.&nbsp; Rhagae was an important mint city during the Parthian period, and was later known as Rayy; it has since been absorbed as a district of Tehran.&nbsp; As the term &quot;Parthian Dark Ages&quot; implies, little is known about the reign of Mithradates III.&nbsp; He may have been the son of Mithradates II, and he seems to have lost some territory to the Armenian king Tigranes II The Great.&nbsp; The reverse legend is in Greek and reads &quot;Basileos megalou Arsakou autokratoros philopatoros epiphanous philellenos&quot; (Of the great king Arsakes, ruling by his own authority, loving his father, illustrious, lover of the Greeks). </p><p><br /></p><p>Hope you found that helpful, let me know if there&#039;s anything else you wondered about the coin.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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