Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 2714331, member: 81887&quot;]Since the Parthicus Collection is now up on the CNG site, it&#039;s time for me to get down to building Parthicus Collection 2: Electric Boogaloo.&nbsp; Here&#039;s my latest acquisition:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]613551[/ATTACH] </p><p>Parthian Kingdom.&nbsp; AE tetrachalkon (18mm, 4.87g).&nbsp; Ekbatana mint.&nbsp; Orodes II (57-38 BC).&nbsp; Obverse: King&#039;s diademed bust left.&nbsp; Reverse: Stag right, Ekbatana mint-symbol before, uncertain symbol above, inscription around.&nbsp; Sellwood 45.38, Shore 512.</p><p><br /></p><p>Orodes II is one of the better-documented Parthian rulers, as usual because he interacted a lot with the Romans.&nbsp; He dealt the triumvir Crassus a crushing defeat in 53 BC, and during the upheaval of the Roman Civil War in 40 BC Parthian troops briefly controlled much of Syria, Asia Minor, and Judaea.&nbsp; Orodes was more Hellenized than most of the Parthian monarchs.&nbsp; He was reportedly quite fluent in Greek (it was during a production of Euripides&#039; Bacchae that the severed head of Crassus made its acting debut) and married a Hellenistic princess of Commagene. Unfortunately, in 38 BC he appointed his least worthy son, Phraates IV, as successor, who promptly had his father killed.&nbsp; Phraates IV would go on to marry the former Roman slave-concubine Musa, whose own son Phraatakes would in turn murder Phraates IV before seizing the throne and marrying his mother.&nbsp; (Seriously, Hollywood needs to adapt this family story.)&nbsp; The Parthian nobility were fond of hunting, as befits their origins as horseback-riding nomads, which may explain the choice of a stag for the reverse type.</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin was acquired from CNG eSale 395 at a final hammer of $200.&nbsp; That&#039;s not a bad price for a Parthian bronze of this quality.&nbsp; The Parthians issued relatively small quantities of bronze relative to their silver output, and much of the bronze that has survived is in pretty miserable condition.&nbsp; Please post your Parthian bronzes, or ancient coins with stags, or whatever else you can plausibly tie into the conversation.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in