FORVM`s Classical Numismatics Discussion Board
Numismatic and History Discussion Forums => Parthian and Other Eastern Coins Discussion Forum => Topic started by: abcoin on April 05, 2017, 03:36:42 am
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I picked up this coin in a lot recently. It appears to be overstruck, which has made attribution a challenge. I've tried consulting the webpage for overstruck coins on Parthia.com, but there aren't many photographs to work with there.
The coin is about 14 mm at its maximum diameter and weighs about 1.33 grams. Does anyone have ideas on an attribution for this, or at least a good guide on these? Thanks in advance.
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Hi Abcoin,
I don't think the coin is Parthian but possibly Elymaean. Go back to Parthia.com and scan through those coins and you might find something pretty close. Elymais appears to have been a semi-autonomous state in or near Parthian territory. There are a couple of folks on this board who are very well versed in these coins (like Bob L.) and I'm sure will get back to you with more information.
Steve S.
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Well, Steve, it's a good thought that the OP coin might be from Elymais but, given the apparent lack of an anchor motif behind the bust, I'd be inclined to think it's a Parthian chalkous. And, given the rectangular shaped beard and diadem loop and ends, I suspect it has to be one of the following: Artabanos II, Artabanos III, Gotarzes II, or Vologases IV. There could be more possibilities among the chalkoi, but I'm no expert on them. Perhaps Alwin or Schatz may chime in.
Abcoin, although it can be a tedious process, your best course of action may be to search on the term "Parthia chalkous" at coinproject.com and scan through the results. Best wishes.
- Bob
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In my opinion your coin is doublestruck, possibly even flipped.
This Artabanos II could be cood starting point id searching:
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1357771
Pekka K
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Thanks for the opinions and suggestions, all. I'm not averse to scrolling through records, so I'll give coinproject a try.
If it's double-struck, would that likely be a minting error, or is there some meaning behind it?
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It's when the coin is flipped over accidentally then struck a second time. It does look like the same head on both sides.
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An intriguing coin, definitely not Elymaean, most likely a Parthian chalkous, and a flipped one, at that. The very low weight would point to a later ruler, but which one?? I found the facial expression interesting. It is somewhat bewildered, like on some Vologases III (Pakoros II) chalkoi, but in the absence of a true reverse and more telling detail on the obverse it is anybody's guess. Certainly all rulers with square or long beards are candidates, as Bob suggests.
Schatz
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I agree. This is probably a chalkous. These tend to come in more and more varieties during the late Parthian period. There's a very high possibility this comes from the reign of Artabanos II (http://parthia.com/coins/pdc_733.jpg) like Pekka suggested.
-TPG