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Tetradrachm - Artabanus Seleucia on the Tigris
| Issuer | Parthian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 127 BC - 126 BC |
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| Reference(s) | Sellwood#18.1, Sunrise#273 |
| Obverse description | Bare-headed and bearded bust of Artabanus II (Artabanos II) facing right, wearing a plain diadem tied at the back with long flowing ends, the hair rendered in wavy locks falling to the nape of the neck. The portrait is executed in a Hellenistic style with strongly modelled facial features, a prominent aquiline nose, and a full beard with undulating strands. The field is plain, and the coin's irregular flan edge is characteristic of Parthian hammered coinage of this period. A beaded border partially encircles the portrait. |
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| Mintage | ND (127 BC - 126 BC) |
| Additional information |
Artabanus I seized the Parthian throne amid the dynastic chaos that followed Mithridates I's death, his reign lasting only a year or two before he was killed fighting the Saka invaders pressing in from the east. These Seleucia-on-the-Tigris issues are among the last tetradrachms struck before prolonged Saka pressure effectively ended large-denomination silver production at that mint for a generation. Sellwood 18.1 is the first variety in the Artabanus sequence, distinguished by specific diadem tie and reverse die details that separate it from the rarer subtypes.