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Obol - Nambed
| Issuer | Kingdom of Persis |
|---|---|
| Year | 60-85 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Obol (⅙) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Bust of King Nambed facing right, wearing a distinctive satrapal headdress adorned with beaded or granulated decoration, rendered in the typical schematic style of late Persis coinage. The effigy displays the ruler in profile with visible drapery at the shoulder. The style is characteristic of the local Persid dynastic tradition, showing strong Parthian artistic influence. The flan is irregular, as is typical of hammered Persis fractional silver coinage of this period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | Diademed king standing in a frontal or three-quarter pose, rendered in the schematic style characteristic of late Persis dynastic coinage. The figure appears to hold attributes associated with royal or priestly ceremony, consistent with other Nambed obol types. The design is struck on an irregular flan with flat or slightly worn details typical of this small hammered fractional denomination. The composition reflects the continuity of Achaemenid-derived iconographic traditions within the Parthian period Persis kingdom. |
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| Additional information |
Persis was the Persian heartland province that maintained semi-autonomous dynastic rule under Parthian suzerainty, and its local coinage — including the tiny obol denominations — served a regional economy largely invisible to the wider Parthian administrative machinery. The fractions are notably scarcer than the drachm issues of the same rulers, likely reflecting limited striking rather than heavy circulation loss.
Nambed's precise position in the Persis dynastic sequence remains debated among specialists, with some authorities placing him as a successor to Pakor I and others reading the sequence differently based on die-linkage studies.