Drachm - Phraates III mule with Arsaces XVI

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.