Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Drachm - Mithridates II
| Issuer | Parthian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 95 BC - 92 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Bust of Mithridates II facing left, depicted with a long, elaborately braided beard and wearing a distinctive tiara or mural crown ornamented with a rosette motif and rows of pearls or beads. The portrait is rendered in high relief in a bold Hellenistic style, with pronounced facial features characteristic of later Parthian coinage. The hair falls in long, beaded locks behind the neck, and the king's garment is visible at the truncation. The field is plain and unadorned, framed by a beaded border encircling the flan. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (95 BC - 92 BC) |
| Additional information |
Mithridates II ruled the Parthian Empire at its greatest territorial extent, pushing boundaries from Mesopotamia into areas of the former Seleucid realm and receiving Chinese Han dynasty envoys around 115 BC — the first documented diplomatic contact between Parthia and China along what would become the Silk Road. This drachm dates to the final years of his reign, a period when his authority was being increasingly challenged by Tigranes of Armenia and internal dynastic pressure that would fracture Parthia after his death in 91 BC.
Sellwood 28.1 is distinguished from adjacent types by the short beard treatment and specific diadem detail visible under magnification.