Parthians: The Traveling Royal Wart

[Schatz]

Dear friends of Parthian coins,

all of us know hat this 'royal wart' business on AR drachms began with Sellwood 47.26.  But as I was going over my Orodes II. pictures to edit them for my gallery I realized that there were earlier warts adorning the royal portrait, and that they were apparently in a different place than the later, established warts.  I counted 5 Orodes II. drachms between S.45.10 and S. 46.12 with a distinct nose wart, i.e. an unmistakable blemish where the nostril meets the cheek.  Furthermore, there are among my coins 3 Orodes II. drachms between S. 47.28 and S.47.32 with 2 warts, one on the forehead and another one in the old location at the nose.  After S.47.32 the competition for the best location was obviously won by the royal brow.

I will try to illustrate what I mean with some pictures, and I sincerely hope I don't mess all of them up in the loading process. Perhaps this is nothing new at all, and everyone except me knows about that wart business, but I could not find any mention in Sellwood or any of the other literature I skimmed through.

Schatz


Nose wart:

[Schatz]

Well, this went real well. Let me try again:

[Schatz]

I will have to load one pair at a time as I just found out:

[Schatz]

Here is the second one:

[okidoki]

hi nice coins,

they do not look like warts, more to emphasize the nostrils ?

[Schatz]

Hi Okidoki,

I am pretty sure they are warts. If you look at the other images you'll see that they are not just the die cutter's flourishes. The wart is believed to be a dynastic adornment.

Schatz

[okidoki]

Hi Okidoki,

I am pretty sure they are warts. If you look at the other images you'll see that they are not just the die cutter's flourishes. The wart is believed to be a dynastic adornment.

Schatz

ah ok,

could they be wearing a diamant there or any other jewelry?

[wileyc]

Warts and the kings of Parthia: an ancient representation of hereditary Neurofibromatosis depicted in coins.
J Hist Neurosci. Todman D, 2008;17(2):141-6. doi: 10.1080/09647040601079607.
Abstract

Abstract
Parthian coins depict a nodule on the face of many of their kings over succeeding generations. Loosely described as a wart in the literature, the nature of these lesions has been the subject of speculation. The accepted view is that they were unlikely to be simply a cosmetic or symbolic feature. Evidence suggests that they may represent the cutaneous tumors of Neurofibromatosis. The hereditary nature and physical appearance of these round nodules are consistent with this diagnosis. Although final proof may be lacking, these prominent facial features are worthy of discussion even though the matter may not be settled with certainty.

Interesting I wonder what collecting foci this could be, the representation of disease on coins?

cw

[Schatz]

Hi again, Okidoki,

I think it is widely accepted that these skin bulges are warts. Jewelry is generally represented differently. A wart is a wart is a wart, there is no way around that.

Schatz


Hello Wiley,

what an intriguing thought, after all, we always try to come up with a theme in our collections. As far as the Parthians are concerned, there is ample room for medical speculation:  First, of course, there are the bulbous noses, but there is also a peculiar feature in the portraiture of 2 kings, Orodes II. (Sellwood 48 type) and some Phraates IV., both have massive necks in some issues which may point to hereditary goiter or lack of iodine in Parthian food.
How on earth did you find D. Todman's article???

Schatz

Below an image of Orodes II. with goiter:

[wileyc]

I am at a university, and just wenr online with the Medical libary, I meant to look for the source article not the abstract today but got busy.

Cw

[n.igma]

Interesting I wonder what collecting foci this could be, the representation of disease on coins?

A "Warts and all" collection?  

[okidoki]

interesting topic