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Tetradrachm - Vologases IV
| Issuer | Parthian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 153 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | The enthroned king Vologases IV is depicted seated left on a throne, extending his right hand to receive a wreath from Tyche, the goddess of fortune, who stands before him facing right and holds a long sceptre in her left hand. A Greek date numeral appears in the field above, corresponding to the Seleucid era year. The scene follows the standard late Arsacid reverse type, presenting the investiture of royal authority in a hieratic, formalised composition typical of Parthian tetradrachms struck at Seleucia on the Tigris. |
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| Mintage | 465 (153 AD) |
| Additional information |
Vologases IV ruled the Parthian Empire through one of its most pressured periods — his reign saw Roman forces under Avidius Cassius sack both Seleucia and Ctesiphon in 165 AD, though this particular issue predates that catastrophe by over a decade. Parthian tetradrachms of this reign were struck at Seleucia on the Tigris, the empire's primary mint for silver-standard coinage, and the billon composition reflects a long, slow debasement that had been underway since the first century AD.
Sellwood 84.16 falls within a tightly documented die sequence for Vologases IV, with Shore and Sunrise attributions aligning closely on this emission.