Drachm - Artabanus II Ekbatana

Artabanus II spent much of his reign in open conflict with Rome and with rival Parthian claimants — Vonones I briefly displaced him entirely, forcing Artabanus to reconquer his own throne with Dahae tribal backing around 10 AD. The Ekbatana mint, one of the oldest continuously operating facilities in the ancient Near East, was strategically vital precisely because it sat on the royal road connecting the western and eastern halves of the empire.

Sellwood 61.7 falls within a series showing progressive portrait degradation common to the later Ekbatana output of this reign.