Chalkous - Vardanes I

Vardanes I spent much of his reign locked in civil war against his brother Gotarzes II, with control of the Parthian throne changing hands at least twice between roughly 40 and 47 AD. Roman sources, particularly Tacitus in the Annals, document the conflict in some detail — Rome monitored Parthian succession crises closely given the ongoing contest over Armenia. Small copper issues like this chalkous circulated at the lowest transactional level and were struck in quantities that make die studies difficult; Sellwood 65 encompasses considerable variety within the type.