Elymais Phraates Ae Drachm

Good to see another Elymaean in your stable, Ron. To narrow the reference down just a bit tighter: van't Haaff 14.7.2-1.

Only two Elymaean rulers issued coins with portraits in profile, wearing tiaras: Phraates and Orodes III. Both issued drachms with a number of different types of reverses, including patterns of dashes like this one. So, to distinguish between a tiara-type with dashes drachm of Phraates versus Orodes III, one must look carefully at the symbol on the tiara. On Phraates' tiara there is an upward facing crescent (like a bowl) with a pellet inside. Despite the wear here, we can see that detail. Appearing on the tiara of Orodes III is the downward curve of an anchor, a small version of the Elymaean anchor that appears behind the kings' busts on these issues.

Cool coin, nice profile portrait and good to learn some more.

Good question. It seems to be arbitrary...sometimes one way, sometimes the other. You'll note above that I gave Ron a van't Haaff reference of 14.7.2-1. What I did not mention is that if the dashes are running north/south in relation to the obverse (in other words, 12:00), then it is a 14.7.2-1.c. If east/west, then 14.7.2-1.b. Not knowing the orientation of Ron's reverse image, I didn't offer up that final lower case letter. Point is, the orientation varies, apparently in an arbitrary way.

I didn't know how to figure the orientation on the dashes, looks like the angle is 1h. 1h.