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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 3915357, member: 81887&quot;]Since everyone else is doing their year-end Top 10 retrospectives, I guess it&#039;s time for mine.&nbsp; The year started out slowly for me, mainly due to some health issues that have since gotten better, but I ended up with a number of nice new acquisitions by the end.&nbsp; Three of the coins below (#3, 5, and 6) are from the Baltimore show in November, and I haven&#039;t had a chance to give them the individual write-ups they deserve yet, but I promise to do those write-ups eventually, even if it takes into the new year.&nbsp; So, let&#039;s go on to the main event.&nbsp; The numbering is fairly arbitrary, except that #1 is definitely my top coin of the year.</p><p><br /></p><p>1. Parthia, Phraatakes and Musa (c.1-4 AD) drachm.&nbsp; One of the most fascinating stories in Parthian history, this former slave girl-concubine turned queen and her son/husband ( <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie105" alt=":yuck:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> ) managed to hold power for a while before being overthrown by the nobles.&nbsp; An amazing historical story, rare coin type, and a scarce mint (Susa) to boot.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1031942[/ATTACH] </p><p>2. Parthia, Mithradates I (171-138 BC) cut 1/3 drachm.&nbsp; The coin itself is a scarce and historical type (in fine Hellenistic style) struck to commemorate the Parthian takeover of the city of Seleukia-on-the-Tigris.&nbsp; But the fact that this coin was cut apart for small change in ancient times gives us information about how coins were used, and indicates the local need for smaller denominations that was not being met.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1031945[/ATTACH] </p><p>3. Sasanian Empire, Hormazd IV (579-590 AD), drachm.&nbsp; Not a particularly pretty coin for its type, but notable for its mintmark, ZwZwN.&nbsp; This mintmark is known only for Hormazd IV, and some researchers think it was a city in the northern provinces, but at least one believes it is actually the denomination of the coin.&nbsp; </p><p>[ATTACH=full]1031952[/ATTACH] </p><p>4. Parthia, Phraates II (c.138-127 BC).&nbsp; Tambrax mint.&nbsp; A very distinctive portrait, and also noteworthy as part of a series showing the king&#039;s progress through different cities as he chased away marauding Sakas.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1031955[/ATTACH] </p><p>5. Roman Republic.&nbsp; Marcus Aemilius Scaurus and Publius Plautius Hypsaeus (58 BC).&nbsp; The reverse depicts King Aretas of Nabataea kneeling next to a camel, and is a tiny document recording the expansion of Roman power in the East.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1031963[/ATTACH] </p><p>6. Parthia, Gotarzes II (40-51 AD) tetradrachm.&nbsp; This coin is multiply struck on both obverse and reverse, which creates a nice overall effect (to my mind, anyway).</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1031965[/ATTACH] </p><p>7. Mauryan Empire, time of Samprati (c.224-215 BC).&nbsp; This Indian punchmarked coin has a very interesting design of three human figures.&nbsp; I tried to find out what humans or gods they are supposed to represent, and didn&#039;t get any conclusive answers, but along the way learned a lot about how scholars study these enigmatic coins with no inscriptions.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1031966[/ATTACH] </p><p>8. Parthia, Arsakes II (c.211-191 BC).&nbsp; Parthian bronze is scarce, and early Parthian bronze especially so.&nbsp; The portrait on this coin is not bad, and the reverse shows the king&#039;s name written mirror-reversed, which is surprisingly common on the earliest Parthian coins.&nbsp; (Guess the celators were still getting used to reversing their carvings for the coin dies.)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1031971[/ATTACH] </p><p>9. Parthia, Phraates IV (38-2 BC).&nbsp; I love the portrait on this coin- highly stylized to emphasize the king&#039;s cruel and fierce nature.&nbsp; Look at that face- you would not want to mess with this man.&nbsp; I also like the double-struck reverse that looks as though the inscription is falling off the coin.&nbsp; (I guess I have a fondness for double-struck Parthian coins (see also #6 above).&nbsp; You got a problem with that? <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie4" alt=":mad:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> )</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1031976[/ATTACH] </p><p>10. Parthia, Orodes II (57-38 BC), Susa mint.&nbsp; A scarce mint, and a very nice portrait style.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1031978[/ATTACH] </p><p>So, there you have my Top 10 for 2019.&nbsp; A bit Parthian-heavy (not that there&#039;s anything wrong with that), but hopefully of interest even for those of you who don&#039;t collect that area.&nbsp; Let me know which of these you liked the best.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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