Obol - Mithridates I

Mithridates I transformed Parthia from a minor regional kingdom into an empire spanning Iran and Mesopotamia, seizing Media around 148 BC and Seleucia-on-the-Tigris by 141 BC. The small silver fractional coinage of his reign circulated across an extraordinarily rapid territorial expansion — territory that roughly doubled within a single decade. Sellwood 12.5 belongs to his later issues, struck after Mesopotamia fell under Parthian control and the mint infrastructure of formerly Seleucid cities became available.