Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Tetradrachm - Phraates II
| Issuer | Parthian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 132 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | 9 o`clock ↑← |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Diademed bust of Phraates II facing left, rendered in fine Hellenistic style with short, curly beard barely visible at the chin and jaw. The king wears a diadem with a long fillet trailing behind, and his hair is rendered in wavy, striated locks swept back from the brow. The portrait is draped at the shoulder and executed in high relief, displaying strong Seleucid artistic influence. A dotted border encircles the design field, characteristic of early Parthian coinage. The effigy fills the flan with considerable artistry, reflecting the transitional Greco-Parthian numismatic aesthetic of the early Arsacid dynasty. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Diademed bust of Phraates II to left, with short, curly beard. |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Phraates II inherited the Parthian throne from his father Mithridates I around 138 BC and spent much of his reign managing the catastrophic consequences of Seleucid aggression from the west and nomadic Saka pressure from the east. The "BA" exergue inscription on this piece marks it as a known variant within Sellwood's classification, distinguishing it from the more common exergue renderings of the type — a small but catalogued detail that reflects the loose supervisory control across Parthian minting operations.
Phraates II was killed fighting the Saka around 127 BC, having made the fatal error of deploying captured Seleucid troops against them.