Coin 1. Parthian Kingdom. AR drachm. Phraates III (c.70-57 BC). Mithradatkart mint. Obverse: Diademed bust left with short beard. Reverse: Seated archer right, mintmark below bow, seven-line Greek legend "Basileos Megalou/Arsakou/ Philopatoros Euergetou/ Epiphanous/ Philellenos" (Of the Great King Arsakes, Loving his Father, Beneficent, Illustrious, Loving the Greeks). Sellwood 36.11, Shore 157. This coin: Purchased from Educational Coin Company at the Baltimore Whitman Coin Expo, March 5, 2026. Coin 2. Parthian Kingdom. AR drachm. Phraates III (c.70-57 BC). Court at Rhagae mint. Obverse: Diademed bust left with long beard, wearing horned tiara with stags on outside. Reverse: Seated archer right, mintmark below bow, six-line Greek legend "Basileos Megalou/Arsakou/ Euergetou/ Epiphanous/ Philellenos" (Of the Great King Arsakes, Beneficent, Illustrious, Loving the Greeks). Sellwood 39.5. This coin: Purchased from Educational Coin Company at Baltimore Whitman Coin Expo, March 5, 2026. Phraates III seems to have been the son of the Parthian king Sinatruces (c. 77-70 BC), and a surviving inscription claims he was the great-grandson of Phriapatios, the third Parthian king. During the early part of Phraates' reign, there was an active usurper (called Arsakes XVI by modern scholars) who may have been active for several years before finally being killed. Phraates also had contact with the Roman general (later triumvir) Pompey the Great. In 66 BC, Pompey received Phraates' assurance of Parthian neutrality in the ongoing disputes between Rome and Tigranes I of Armenia. However, soon afterwards Phraates supported a rebellious son of Tigranes I, called Tigranes the Younger, in an unsuccessful revolt against his father. Phraates was able to capture Gorduene (an area in northern Mesopotamia) from Tigranes I, but Pompey was not pleased, sending a very haughty letter to Phraates (addressing him simply as "King" rather than "King of Kings") and dispatching troops who forced the Parthian king to withdraw from Gorduene, restoring it to Tigranes. Almost nothing is known of the later part of Phraates' reign, as (per usual) Roman historians didn't write much about events that didn't involve Rome. In either late 58 or 57 BC Phraates was murdered by his two sons, Mithradates IV and Orodes II. Phraates III used four very distinct portraits on his drachms over the course of his reign, and the two shown here are the two types that are most easily confused with other kings. Coin 1 has a portrait that is very similar to Arsakes XVI; the two are best distinguished by the reverse legend, as Phraates III uses a seven-line legend on this type while Arsakes XVI uses only five lines. Coin 2's obverse closely resembles Sellwood type 33 (previously attributed to Gotarzes I, reassigned by Assar to Sinatruces). In this case, Sinatruces uses only five lines on his reverse while Phraates III uses six. I was able to pick these out of a $55 per coin pick box of mixed Parthian drachms by carefully looking at the reverses, another example of how it pays to know the details of series you collect. I have previously shared coins with Phraates' other portrait styles (facing bust, and left bust with tiara and long beard), which are not easily confused with any other rulers' coins. The reason behind such distinct portrait styles in one reign is unclear, but it leaves room for an interesting sub-collection. Please share your coins of Phraates III, or whatever else is related.
