Lot 294
Mithradates III (87-80 BC), Silver Tetradrachm, 16.11g, 12h. Mithradates III (87-80 BC), Silver Tetradrachm, 16.11g, 12h. Minted at Seleucia on the Tigris. Diademed and medium bearded bust left in tiara, decorated with a star on side, spiral torque, dotted border. Rev. Archer enthroned right, seven-line inscription ??S???OS ??G???Y ??S???Y AYTOKPATOPOS F??O?ATOPOS ??IF?NOYS F????????S (S 31.1 (Orodes I); Sunrise 306). Good fine. Very rare. Babylonian cuneiform sources confirm that Mithradates II died in 91 BC and was succeeded by his son Gotarzes I (91-87 BC). The latter was, in his turn, followed on the throne by the issuer of S 31 coinage who styled himself F??O?ATOPOS, "Loving his Father", perhaps an allusion to Gotarzes I (or even Mithradates II) as his father. Given that Josephus (Jewish Antiquities, 13.384-386) reports that a reigning Arsacid prince called Mithradates received the defeated Seleucid ruler Demetrius III Eucaerus Philopator (96-87 BC), the S 31 coinage may be allocated to this same Parthian king Mithradates. For further reading see: Assar G.R.F., "A Revised Parthian Chronology of the Period 91-55 B.C.", Parthica 8 (2007/8), 55-104 (at 69-75).
Estimated Value $4,800-UP.
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| Realized $8,190 |
