New Parthian Coins - rerun from a while ago

STLNATS · June 2, 2007 1:04AM

I've added several coins to my growing Parthian collection of late, including some pickups at the recent Central States show in STL and the Ponterio and CNG auctions. Its taken a while to scan these, but here's a couple of very interesting tetradrachms of Mithradates II, circa BC 121-91.

The left coin is an ancient imitation of the genuine piece on the right. All the details are the same, with just stylistic differences. The most notable of these are the way the letters are formed on the reverse, with lines connecting the "dots." I bought the imitation from a well known dealer at CS and, given the style, is characterized as "celtic." It probably could be tied down more precisely, but I don't have a specific reference for this type of material.

The genuine coin is from CNG and is an interesting portrait of the king which I especially like.

My initial objective was to get a nice (ie no need to improve) piece of each king and/or Sellwood #. My core collections (US national currency, papal medals) are pretty advanced and was fueled when faced with the opportunity to spend several $10ks for a note for my collection which I realized would tap me out for some time. Instead, I decided to see how far I could go with the Parthian series (a loooong term interest) for 30-40% of that amount. I've gotten decent examples of most of the easy kings by now and, unfortunately for my bank account, seem to be attracted to those crazy - but extremely interesting- varieties. I love variety in my collections and as usual, things have gotten out of hand. But, with coins like these, who cares so long as the money holds out!

theboz11 · June 2, 2007 1:20AM

lordmarcovan · June 2, 2007 1:20AM

I could really get into those.

But for me, it's Rome first, her opponents later.

worldcoinguy · June 2, 2007 1:24AM

Fascinating comparison, and intriguing to think you have an "imitation" that dates back that far.

JZrarities · June 2, 2007 1:30AM

Thank you so much for the interesting post. I just learned a lot about the imitations, and am suprised to learn it might be Celtic.

again, thanks

STLNATS · June 2, 2007 1:37AM

am suprised to learn it might be Celtic

I think that this is more of a generic term since the "celts" were all over the place. The reverse style of the lettering recalls imitations of Alex the great and other large tetradrachms of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. I don't know these at all, so need to do some more research to try to tie it down as time permits. The key for me is that it is a "genuine ancient imitation" (is that an oxymoron?) that can be tied so specifically to one of the Parthian issues. What fun!

BTW, these are both big coins, half $ size and weight ~1/2 ounce.

Thanks all for the nice feedback also.

edited to add: this is a pretty sophisicated copy with correct spelling and some sense of style in the portrait capturing the feel of the original. It was sold as, and I'm pretty sure, that it is not an official issue (if it is I really did well) but need to do more work on it.

STLNATS · August 10, 2012 11:11PM

Several folks expressed interest in the Parthian coin purchased by "coinsarefun" so I thought I'd take the liberty to rerun a thread I put out a few years ago on a couple of my favorite coins of one of my favorite series. This pair is one of the most interesting things I've personally come across and still gets my blood racing so I hope you don't mind the repeat...

edited to add: I failed to mention in the post that the ancient imitation was from Jonathan Kern of Blue Grass coins. Jon is a well established and reliable dealer who sold me my first Parthian coin (which I still have) when I was in college way too many years ago.

Zohar · August 10, 2012 11:31PM

I have been looking at the Parthian series for some time, yet have not gotten myself to get educated prior to purchase.

Thanks for sharing.

STLNATS · August 10, 2012 11:44PM

Hey Zohar, here's where you need to start:

Parthia dot com

Up to date attributions and discussions on all things Parthian and lotsa pix! Good luck...

This is an interesting yet at times frustrating series since personal names are rarely used on the coins. Consequently there's a fair amount of disagreement on attributions on a number of varieties. The nice thing about Parthia.com is that there's good discussion and guidance about these disagreements which I at least find useful. Its sorta like collecting chinese cash (ok not quite that bad). Pretty confusing at first but once you get into it tho, you start seeing stylic differences and begin to understand the logic of the coinage. 100 or so coins later I'm still missing a couple of kings (Arsakes I and Tiridates S55 variety) but chasing down the varieties keeps me interested.

EVillageProwler · August 11, 2012 4:01AM

Interesting thread, with much similarity to my own situation (with Anglo-Saxon hammered pennies). I initially endeavored to complete a manageable subset of the entire run, much like folks doing the 12 Caesars of a specific metal or denomination in a certain quality range. Well, my goal has broadened to beyond the initial monarchs/territory/period, and now I feel terribly intimidated.

In Chicago, Andy Lustig told me that I won't be able to build a truly great set at the rate I'm going. (He wasn't being mean; we were having a serious conversation with several others, and he was giving me great advice which I appreciate.) Fast forward to the summer ANA... I was eying some sweet stuff at Baldwin's, unable to execute now, and feeling quite upset with myself.

I told myself that I will try to buy one great Anglo-Saxon penny each year. I already bought one this year (Coenwulf, S-919, in aEF), went into debt, and when I pay that off (end of year), I will try to buy another.

EVP

coinsarefun · August 11, 2012 6:33AM

<< <i>Several folks expressed interest in the Parthian coin purchased by "coinsarefun" so I thought I'd take the liberty to rerun a thread I put out a few years ago on a couple of my favorite coins of one of my favorite series. This pair is one of the most interesting things I've personally come across and still gets my blood racing so I hope you don't mind the repeat...

edited to add: I failed to mention in the post that the ancient imitation was from Jonathan Kern of Blue Grass coins. Jon is a well established and reliable dealer who sold me my first Parthian coin (which I still have) when I was in college way too many years ago.

>>

Thanks for posting this. I was looking through today and said......hey, this thread is right up my alley

Thanks again, nice coins and great thread!

Stefanie

Aethelred · August 15, 2012 11:04AM

I have always liked the design of these coins, but never really gotten into collecting them. Still, everyone should have one!

New Parthian Coins - rerun from a while ago

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