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Drachm - Phraates III mule with Arsaces XVI
| Issuer | Parthian Empire (Parthian Empire (247 BC - 224 AD)) |
|---|---|
| Year | 60 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The seated archer type appears, depicting a male figure enthroned to the right, holding a bow — the canonical reverse motif of Arsaces XVI (Orodes I). The mintname legend EN PAΓAIC appears to the left of the throne, partially preserved. This reverse die belongs to the issue of Arsaces XVI, creating the mule combination characteristic of Sellwood type 30.18. The surrounding Greek legend identifies the king with the royal titulature of the Arsacid dynasty. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Sellwood 30.18 is a mule — a coin struck from dies belonging to two different reign types — pairing obverse or reverse elements associated with Phraates III with those of Arsaces XVI (Orodes I). This kind of die mixing was not uncommon in Parthian minting practice, where royal workshops operated with considerable autonomy and dies were reused or paired opportunistically rather than systematically retired. The result is a numismatic hybrid that complicates attribution and occasionally ignites genuine scholarly disagreement over which king actually authorized the issue.
The 60s BC were politically volatile in Parthia — Phraates III was assassinated by his own sons, Mithridates and Orodes, around 57 BC, and the succession was contested and violent.