Ancient. Parthian? Mithradates? ID Please!

Ooh, thanks for that TIF!

New here to the board. Tom, your coin is a Sellwood type 31, specifically a Sellwood 31.5 or 31.6. It's impossible to pin it down further since the star on the tiara, which is the distinguishing feature that differentiates these attributions, is worn down

In The Coinage of Parthia (1980) Sellwood attributed the type 31's to Orodes I (90-80 BC). Fred Shore, in "Parthian Coins and History: Ten Dragons Against Rome" (1993) respected Sellwood's attribution of the type 31's. The equivalent Shore numbers for your coin would be Shore 122-124 â€" again, it's not possible to pin it down further due to the wear on the tiara.

However, more recently Dr. G. R. F. Assar reattributed the Sellwood type 31's to a "new" king named Mithradates III, and most knowledgeable dealers have accepted his scholarship. (Having said that, I still typically use Sellwood's numbers for my own collection...I just find it easier to stick with the standard reference, meaning Sellwood, for my own cataloging)

Respectfully, Masis: your coin is not a Sellwood 29.1 but, rather, another type 31 (Orodes I/Mithradates III) like Tom's. Sellwood type 29's cover coinage issued by Mithradates II (father of Mithradates III), and thus not Gotarzes I. It is VERY common for all of these issues (tiara-type drachms of Mithradates II, Gotarzes I, and the type 31 drachms of Orodes I/Mithradates III) to be confused with one another by well-intentioned dealers who may not handle a lot of Parthians. The easiest, quickest way to spot the difference is the number of lines at the bottom of the reverse legend: Orodes I/Mithra III legends, as in both Tom's example and yours, will have two lines at the bottom, whereas Mithra II tiara-type drachms (Sellwood 28's and 29's), as well as Gotarzes I tiara-types, will always have just one line at the bottom. Furthermore, Gotarzes I drachms (Sellwood 33's) will always have decorative elements (birds or stags) radiating out from the top of the tiara.

I hope this helps!

Bob L.
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& Thank you Bob, it is always good to learn!
I will now update my notepad file on "Gotarzes I" to "Orodes I/Mithradates III" Sellwood type 31.

I was browsing on Google images for examples of Orodes I and Mithradates III.

I find that in detail my example is most like "Mithradates III" comparing it to the example below, first left:

http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Histo...thian-st.htm
Coincidentally that image is from an article written by Dr. G. R. Assar.

Thanks, all, for the welcoming messages.

The image that Masis posted this morn (well, morning in my neck of the woods anyway) illustrates yet more reassignments by Dr. Assar, with figure 5 having been changed from Sellwood's attribution of Orodes I to Mithradates III, figure 6 being reassigned from Sellwood's Sinatruces to Orodes I, and figure 7 being switched from Sellwood's "Unknown King II" to Artabanus II "?" (the question mark being Assar's).

The reattributions can be frustrating at times for Parthian collectors. As I said in my previous post, I just stick with Sellwood's 1980 assignments for my own cataloging, even though this leaves me a bit out of touch with current studies. I'm basically just too lazy to make the changes. However, I suspect that the majority of Assar's reattributions are valid. Since David Sellwood's death about two years ago, Assar may well be the world's leading authority on the coinage.

Supposedly the "Sylloge Nummorum Parthicorum," a huge nine-volume set that is currently underway, will be the definitive reference for Parthian attributions. Volume VII, covering the reigns of Vologases I through Artabanus III (Sellwood types 68 through 77), is already in print. When complete, the nine volumes will document approximately 17,000 coins from the collections of a number of museums worldwide.

Probably more than anyone wanted to know...

Bob

That's brilliant Bob. My friend says to give you a big thanks for what is a very informative post.

And a warm welcome from me too!

He asked me to attach a better image of the star. There is considerably more detail on the coin than a scan brings out, but he doesn't know if it is enough?




I know. I should just tell him to join, shouldn't I?

Thanks for the kind words, and for the closeup pic, Tom. It does indeed help. Sellwood 31.5's would have a six-pointed star, whereas Sellwood 31.6's have an eight-pointed star. I believe your friend's is the latter; I'm confident calling it a Sellwood 31.6, Mithradates III (Sellwood's Orodes I). Mint: Rhagae. Here's another 31.6, to give you a better sense of what the star looks like, from a VF coin: http://parthia.com/coins/pdc_21371.jpg

Bob

Bob, thanks for your informative post and for that very well-illustrated site. Can you supply a citation to an article Dr. Assar has written arguing his reattributions?

Glad to hear it, Tom.

Augustus1: Many of Assar's reattributions were printed in a three-part article in "The Celator" magazine. "Recent Studies in Parthian History, Part I" was in Vol. 14, #12, December 2000. Part II appeared in Vol. 15, #1, January 2001. Part III was in Vol. 15, #2, February 2001.

The articles are available online too, starting with Part I at: http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Histo...thian-st.htm

I believe that Assar has done some more re-assigning since those articles. There has, by the way, been some talk that Assar would complete Sellwood's unfinished third edition, but some folks in the know apparently doubt it'll happen - especially given that the Sylloge Nummorum Parthicorum is underway...

Bob