Sometimes Small is Better than Big

Al Kowsky · Sep 1, 2018

TIF said: ↑

Oh wait... I misread the original post. The coin with red background is the tetradrachm?! I thought that was your new coin.

Hmm. I would have kept that larger and just let it tone a bit. We all have our preferences but the very slightly weak hair detail doesn't bother me. The lack of toning doesn't bother me-- that changes over time anyway. The tetradrachm's reverse is so much more artistic to my eye, but perhaps you value full legends more than I do.
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TIF, you're right about the reverse, the Tet is far superior primarily because the celator had a larger area to work with. Regardless, the mismatch in size is annoying. My focus on acquiring a nice Parthian coin was the portrait. The larger coin not only has missing detail in the hair but also on the high point of the shoulder.

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Al Kowsky · Sep 1, 2018

Pellinore said: ↑

Tell me if I'm wrong, but both OP coins are of the early Mithradates II type, Sellwood 24. I must say both are very attractive and way above what I would be able to acquire, compliments! (Maybe if I weren't buying dozens of Roman Provincials).
The obverses are just about as likeable, but the reverse of the tetradrachm has more realistic detail. I know what I would want...

I'm not going to show my own pitiful Miths here in this fine thread. Or maybe just to show what's hanging at the low end.

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This is a later type of Mithradates II, Sellwood 29.2. 18 mm, 4.04 gr. It's dear to me because it's one of the few coins left from my boyhood collection, I bought it in 1972.

And here are two bronzes. These are not nearly as beautiful as the silver coins. Why do I want them? They were nowhere in 1972, no archer on the reverse, always a little different from others.

The larger one, light brown, with the horsehead reverse: 17 mm, 3.44 gr, is Sellwood 29.10. The darker and smaller one, 15 mm, 2.35 gr., could be Sellwood 29.11, with Nike walking right on the reverse, surrounded by five lines of Greekish text. On the obverse, no marks or monograms around the bust of Mithradates II.

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Pellinore, your drachma of Mithradates II is a little gem. I love the ostentatious crown, & the toning on the coin accentuates the detail on both sides.

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Sometimes Small is Better than Big

Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

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