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Drachm - Phriapatios
| Issuer | Parthian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 185 BC - 170 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Bust of Phriapatios facing left, depicted with short curly hair and wearing a distinctive soft Parthian bashlyk helmet adorned with a row of pellets along the upper edge. The ruler's effigy is rendered in a hybrid Hellenistic-Iranian artistic style, with finely modelled facial features including a prominent nose and defined chin. A torque or necklace detail is visible at the base of the neck. The field is plain, with no surrounding legend, reflecting the early Arsacid coinage convention of an uninscribed obverse. |
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| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Phriapatios ruled the nascent Parthian kingdom during a period when the dynasty was still consolidating control over the Iranian plateau, squeezed between Seleucid pressure from the west and nomadic threats from the east. His coinage follows the Seleucid weight standard almost precisely — a pragmatic acknowledgment that the economic infrastructure of the region was still thoroughly Hellenistic in orientation. Sellwood 6.1 is the earliest attributed variety for this ruler.