Greek Silver & Bronze

Lot 2025       Greek Silver & Bronze

Estimate $750
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $850

PARTHIA, Kingdom of, Darius, (c.70 B.C.) (Shore assigns to Phraates III 70-57 B.C.), silver drachm, (3.61 grams), Mithradatkart mint, obv. short bearded bust facing with diadem, necklace and medallion, rev. archer seated right on throne, seven line inscription, MT monogram over **Q*, (cf.S.7413, Sellwood 35.5, Shore 166 [this coin]). Toned, very fine and very rare.

Ex. Shore Collection, Classical Numismatic Group New York auction, December 5, 1995, (lot 166). $$ These spectacular facing bust drachms are attributed to Darius by Sellwood, and attributed to Phraates III by Shore. They were issued throughout the Parthian empire and Shore argues, that as a consequence, cannot be considered as belonging to Darius, who was merely the client king of Media Atropatene. These coins differ from the previous issues by one word change in the legend from 'Philopator' to 'Theopator'. As in the case of Orodes I, there is only one way to progress from 'loving one's father' to 'father is a god' and that is by the death of the father. Shore believes that if the profile drachms of this ruler of the Philopater type are as co-king under his father Sinatruces, then these facing bust drachms should be attributed to Phraates III issued briefly upon his father's death. The use of a type so strikingly dissimilar to anything that had come before may have been Phraates III's way of showing emphtically that he was now sole king of the Parthian empire.