Help Me Identify My Coins 300 BC

to the community

The coins are from ancient Parthia and date late first century BC to early AD.

BobL is our resident expert on this coin type, he should be along later and be able to give you more information.

Welcome, Deansmiles.

You've got two Parthian drachms there. At first I thought they might be bronze chalkoi (a particular denomination of Parthian coinage) but I now believe they are most likely deeply toned, and perhaps debased, silver drachms.

I wish I had a better image of the coin at left in your first pic (which, incidentally, should be rotated 45 degrees clockwise to see the ruler's image upright). There are a couple of different kings it could be, but it's most likely Phraates IV, who ruled Parthia c. 38 - 2 BC. The mint symbol on the reverse indicates that it was minted at Rhagae (in Iran).

The second coin (at right in your top pic) is attributed by Fred B. Shore as Orodes I, who ruled Parthia from c. 90 - 80 BC. Looks like a pretty nice example. It was struck at either Ecbatana or Rhagae (both in Iran). Fyi, you may see this type listed as "Unknown King" (as per David Sellwood) or "Arsakes XVI" (as per Dr. G.R.F. Assar) or as Orodes I (as per Shore). Parthian attributions are not always fixed and, most often, kings' names were not included on the coinage.

Congrats on acquiring them!

Cleaning is a big no-no in the coin hobby. Just my Two Cents.

@Hello There

All ancient coins are cleaned to some extent. While over cleaning is frowned upon as it can strip away an attractive patina, some cleaning is always necessary with ancient coins. Some of them have been in the ground for 2 millennia. They do not come from the ground in anything near pristine or even presentable condition.

To repeat, cleaning is not a sin in the world of ancients as it is with modern coins.

Now there's a big subject.

When a coin lies buried underground for a couple of millennia it exchanges ions with minerals in the soil. The process starts immediately and only stops when a condition of local equilibrium is reached. This means that some elements in the soil bond with the coin in various chemical states. The surface of the coin is altered, and this shows up as patina. Further accretions can take place which build up on the patina, and are chemically bonded to it. Some materials only form weak bonds and may form an enshrouding crust around the coin. Some materials merely adhere to the outside of a coin without bonding. Your original idea about ancients was limited to that last class.

Because of all the chemistry involved, and all the different combinations of mineral reactions and deposits, the task of cleaning an ancient coin is an art and a science of incredible complexity. There is no one way to approach it. However, if done poorly it can strip a coin of its patina and so decrease the original metal content, sometimes significantly so. Therefore, simply dropping it into a beaker of some acid or reagent is not the way to go.

Numismatists who are up to the science involved, and learn the craft, may well tackle cleaning coins without harming them. The rest of us are best off to watch from the sidelines.