Unidentified Parthian King

[orenpym]

Hello !

This is my first post here, so I will try to give you a brief background.
I have a friend with a strang hobby - searching for coins with a metal detector. One day he showed me his little collection of mainly Byzantine coins. After a while I told this to my father and he said that after my grandfather passed away 10 years ago my father found in his stuff a little pouch which contained ancient coins. I looked into this coins and found out that some of them are quite interesting.
My grandpa came to Palestine from Afghanistan in the early 30's, where he was a merchant. I don't know whether he collected coins or maybe he came by them during his "business ventures" but all of this coins are for sure from the area of Afghanistan. Most of the coins are Parthian, Sassanian, Kushan and Iranian (Muslim).
This is the most intriguing coin - since I can't decide which parthian king is depicted on it.

I'll appreciate any information or help I can get.

Thanks in advance

Oren

[orenpym]

this is the reverse side

[Howard Cole]

The coin appears to be of Mithradates I (171-138 BC).  I think it is Sellwood 8.1.  Obv. Bust left in bashlyk (the hood).  Rev. Archer seated right on omphalos, one line legend.  Mint, Hekatomphylos.

Howard

[orenpym]

Thank you Howard for clearing this matter.
I was hoping for Arsaces I, since the portrait is similar, but I see why it is actually a variation of Mithradates I(sellwood 8.1) - even though Mith had puffier chicks and longer nose on the other coins I've seen on parthia.com.

By the way, do you happen to know why in later coins of Mithradates he has large beard?

Oren

[Howard Cole]

I really don't know about the beard.  Maybe he got older?  He ruled for 33 years.  The type of coin you have, Sellwood puts early in his reign.  So as he got older, he grew a beard and this is reflected in his coins.

Howard

[Robert_Brenchley]

Sellwood 8.1, but I do wonder about the coin's autheticity. It could be in poor condition, with some pitting, or it could be cast, what do other people think? Its interesting how the beard appears on his coins at the same time as his headgear changes. I can't help wondering whether there's some special significance to it.

[Howard Cole]

I have to agree with Robert.  I have concerns about the pitting, but without seeing the coin in hand, I can't really say if it is genuine or not.

Howard

[AlexB]

Hi

Unfortunately I think its cast. Could it though be porousity? Harsh environment in Afghanistan, plus many coins show relatively poor standards of silver/latent air mix hence perforation.

AlexB

 

[orenpym]

Hi all, and thank you for the information

A few questions:
What do you mean by "cast" exactly? is it some kind of modern fake, or older "look alike".
How can you tell if a coin is genuine, fake or cast? what are the clues?
What other information on this coin can I give you in order to decide whether it is genuine or not? maybe a better picture? should I clean it some more and how?

Oren

[Robert_Brenchley]

My suspicion is that it MAY be a modern imitation, but I'm not certain; it's very difficult to tell from a pic. I suggest you post it on the fakes board with a query; that way you'll get more of an answer. To get a final answer, you may have to let an expert examine the coin in hand.

[orenpym]

I don't know what you mean by "modern", but as I wrote before, my granfather brought this coin (along with other sasanian, kushan, iranian indian and arab coins) from Afghanistan (Herat, to be precise) in the early 1930's (1931-2), so it must be earlier.

Here is another nice example from that collection - I think it is Shapur I.

Oren

[orenpym]

and here is the other side

[Robert_Brenchley]

It has a similar looking surface, though its not so pronounced. The roughness and pitting could indicate a cast fake, and it could also be that it's down to the soil conditions in the area. That's why I'm suggesting you post it to the fakes board; someone may be able to help more than me. The 1930's would count as 'modern' where ancients are concerned.

[Howard Cole]

Can you give us the diameter and weight of both coins?  

Also, signs of casting are pits in the surface where you would not expect them (like on the letters of the inscription), softness of the coin (lines are not sharp but slightly blurry), wrong weight, wrong metal, wrong diameter or shape, and finally lines (called a casting seam) or filing on the edge of the coin.  Sometimes there is also left over slag from the casting.  This slag looks like black non-clear glass, usually with inclusions, found mainly in the area of the inscription and recesses of the design.  

Some castings are easy to spot and others take more study.

As of modern, anything since the late 1800's to early 1900's is considered modern.

Howard