Why did I buy this group lot?

[Parthicus]

I won this group lot of 2 Parthian drachms and 3 Bactrian silvers (2 square drachms, 1 obol) in the latest Stephen Album auction. Just for fun, I thought I'd see if anyone can guess why I was interested in this particular lot. Please be specific (i.e., not just "Because you like Parthian coins.")

 

[ambr0zie]

13 minutes ago, Parthicus said:

Please be specific (i.e., not just "Because you like Parthian coins.")

 

Because you like Bactrian silvers? =))

Now on a serious note. Parthian and Bactrian coins are not my specialty at all. In fact I only have 1 Parthian coins (I am pretty sure I saw your posts and decided to have an example to illustrate this civilization in my collection).

So this answer might be incorrect - but usually when I buy a coin, I try to be a special one, with a certain particularity. In your lot what I found out of the ordinary is the eagle behind the portrait on the second coin - which I believe is a Phraates IV. I am not sure if this is an interesting particularity on Parthian coins, because I have not studied them properly, but this is the first time I notice this obverse. 

[John Conduitt]

2 hours ago, ambr0zie said:

Because you like Bactrian silvers? =))

Now on a serious note. Parthian and Bactrian coins are not my specialty at all. In fact I only have 1 Parthian coins (I am pretty sure I saw your posts and decided to have an example to illustrate this civilization in my collection).

So this answer might be incorrect - but usually when I buy a coin, I try to be a special one, with a certain particularity. In your lot what I found out of the ordinary is the eagle behind the portrait on the second coin - which I believe is a Phraates IV. I am not sure if this is an interesting particularity on Parthian coins, because I have not studied them properly, but this is the first time I notice this obverse. 

I don’t think the eagle is unusual. I bought a coin of Phraates IV because of it 😂 Although the coin does look a bit odd, like an imitation.

Perhaps, by your other post, it is the smaller unit, although those seem fairly common.

Edited April 2, 2023 by John Conduitt

[Severus Alexander]

It must be the top left coin... what tipped me off is that "ΕΠΙΦΑΝΥΣ" isn't right for Sinatrukes (leftmost part of the legend).  Looking into it further had me go WOW!! 🤯 It appears to be an extremely rare and important mule issue with an obverse of Sinatrukes and reverse of Mithradates II, and a die match for the Sellwood example sold in 2015. There's an interesting discussion of the implications of the mule at the link, and a reference to a paper by Assar.

They wouldn't have put that in a group lot had they noticed, I assume.  Did anyone else notice?  i.e. did you get it for a steal?

Here's my common Mithradates II from the Rhagae mint with a similar reverse:

[Al Kowsky]

5 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

It must be the top left coin... what tipped me off is that "ΕΠΙΦΑΝΥΣ" isn't right for Sinatrukes (leftmost part of the legend).  Looking into it further had me go WOW!! 🤯 It appears to be an extremely rare and important mule issue with an obverse of Sinatrukes and reverse of Mithradates II, and a die match for the Sellwood example sold in 2015. There's an interesting discussion of the implications of the mule at the link, and a reference to a paper by Assar.

They wouldn't have put that in a group lot had they noticed, I assume.  Did anyone else notice?  i.e. did you get it for a steal?

Here's my common Mithradates II from the Rhagae mint with a similar reverse:

It looks like the sharp eye of Severus Alexander is right on 🤨! Pictured below is the Sellwood mule that hammered for $1,300.00 ☺️.

[Qcumbor]

Interesting.
I guess @Alwin would like to see this

Q

[Alwin]

I did not expect to find a subject on the Parthians here, rather in "Non-Western".
The interesting coin (speaking only of the Parthians) is not the pseudo-hybrid which is a well-known fake. I have one too, and I counted 16 copies, most of them sold on FleeB. The very interesting coin is the drachm of Phraates IV minted in Aria. And I thank its happy owner in advance for showing it to us on a photo of a larger size, so that we can really appreciate it!

[Parthicus]

Ding ding ding!  We have a winner!  @Alwin is absolutely correct that I was drawn to the Phraates IV drachm when I realized that what looked, at first glance, like the very common Ekbatana mintmark (AGT monogram, done as an A with dot under the crossbar and a bar above the A) is actually the rare Aria mint (A alone, with the cross bar as a downward > rather than straight line).  Also, partial credit to @John Conduitt who noted that the coin looks "a bit odd, like an imitation"- Aria is far to the East and has a distinctive style, especially in the portrait.  Though I did also like the elephant/zebu Bactrian coin, I wouldn't have bid if I hadn't noticed the Aria mintmark.  I'll be taking a larger photo when I post a full write-up, which I will try to make soon (depending on how busy I am at work this week).

[Severus Alexander]

Dammit! 😆 And I actually ID'd the Aria mint coin first (correctly), before looking at the fake.  And deleted that info when discovering the even greater interest (or so I thought!) of the muled coin.  Was the fake identified as such in the listing?

Coingrats on the acquisition, @Parthicus!  I look forward to seeing the individual photo.