Not too long ago, a seller was selling many Parthian coins, several of which I already owned. But I did manage to win one that I needed, which was Vonones I. I did end up winning it at a good price, plus it's how I like my ancients, darkly toned. Thanks to @Bob L. for confirming the Sellwood. Vonones I (8 - 12 A.D.) AR Drachm O:ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΟΝΩΝΗΣ, bust of king left, tapering beard, short hair; border of dots; semi-circular Greek legend. R: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ / ΟΝΩΝΗΣ / ΝΕΙΚΗΣΑΣ / ΑΡΤΑΒΑΝΟΝ, Nike walking right; in right hand, palm; in front below palm monogram 26. Ecbatana Mint 3.81g 19mm Sellwood 60.5
Nice acquisition! I really like Vonones' drachm design, not just for breaking the relative monotony of the reverse type, but more importantly for actually including his personal name (on both obverse and reverse, too!) thus providing a great help to future generations of numismatists and historians. Here's my example of the type:
That is nice toning. The short hair is an interesting detail. Is that common or specific to this ruler? John
I'm not sure I understand the concept of posting a 'special' coin and not mentioning why it was special but Parthicus took care of that to a degree pointing out the personal name thing. Let's see, the man doesn't look like a Parthian, doesn't follow the standard deference to the founder of the dynasty and includes a 'fake news' or 'negative campaign ad' on the reverse. The bottom and left line reads 'defeater of Artabanos'. It is almost like you might expect from a man who was raised as a Roman sent there by his father Phraates IV to prevent him from competing for the throne with his (half) brother Phraatakes who you may recall was the child of the beautiful slave girl Musa given to Phraates by Augustus. They say Augustus sometimes gifted friends with old coins but Phraates was the kind of guy that would rather have a hot slave girl than a tetradrachm. Vonones returned to Parthia a few years later when the Parthian nobility requested a new king to replace a series of poor choices so Augustus returned to them a guy who had no idea how to be a Parthian even though he had Parthian 'blood'. I'm not going to spoil this story by telling you how this went over in turbo-conservative Parthia. You can research this yourself if you can't guess. Coins? Sure. I deeply regret that I don't own the most important one but I can show some of the story. There was a king named Phraates IV who and quite a few sons by several women (Parthians, unlike cardinals and geese, did not mate for life) including the eldest Vonones and Phraatakes by the beautiful and controlling slave girl Musa who obviously wanted her son to be first in line. Phraates sent Vonones and a few brothers to Rome to live with Augustus and insure Phraates good behavior (as if Augustus thought that holding children of foreign kings would make a difference???) allowing the young Phraatakes to be groomed for succession which was hastened by the poisoning of Phraates by Musa. There are very popular and expensive coins showing Musa and her son on the two sides but these have not made their way into my collection. (gap) Those interested can look up the details of this story involving Orodes III (I lack) and Artabanus II mentioned on the reverse of Vonones coins. whose coins might be included to make this set longer but the nobles ask Augustus to give them a king so Vonones was sent along with his un-Parthian ways as shown on his coin that started this thread: In truth, I hate to post any Parthian coins since there is a real possibility that someone will have reattributed them to another king who, unlike Vonones, did not make it easy on collectors by putting is name on the coins in perfectly legible Greek. That certainly would make collecting the series easier! I apologize for this long post but Parthian history is filled with stories that are a power of ten more complicated than those of the comparatively boring Romans who only rarely killed fathers or brothers or married slave girls provided by overseas powers. I also apologize if I mixed up any of the details here. This is not my specialty but certainly can see how someone with a lot of time to spend studying might find Parthian coins most appealing.
@Mat and @Parthicus Both are excellent samples of the type. I do not have a Vonones and honestly given my limited reading on the Parthians, I’m not always sure of who I have. These coins are a welcome relief for as @dougsmit said, being able to read the Greek is a rare thing on Parthians. to be honest, I started buying some because they fit well into my “guys with fancy hats” sub collection.
