Hi out there,
I am in the process of uploading my bronze
Parthians to my
gallery and have come to a coin which puzzles me. It was attributed by the seller (Jean
Elsen whose identifications are usually right on the mark) to be a
chalkous of Artabanos II. (
Sellwood 61.15), but the
obv. seems to contradict that. Artabanos II., and for that matter Gotarzes II., and Artabanos III. have very straight hair, not 4 bushy waves, and they do not have a rounded short beard. On the other hand, it cannot be an Orodes II., because the only bronze that would fit (Sellw. 43.16) is a dichalkous , and my coin
weights barely 1 gram.
Generally speaking, the
portrait style of this coin is rather unusual, and I do not recall having seen one like that before. There are other small bronzes from Mithradatkart that have a similar strange
style, but none with the features of mine.
Is there anyone who can shed light on this?
Eagerly awaiting your insights,
Schatz