Mithradates of Parthia and Hyspaosines of Characene: a numismatic palimpsest,

32 Pages·1925·9.651 MB·English

by  Edward Theodore Newell

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No. 26 A Se aN
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MITHRADATES OF PARTHIA
AND
HYSPAOSINES OF CHARACENE:
A NUMISMATIC PALIMPSEST
By EDWARD T. NEWELL
THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY (cid:2802)
BROADWAY AT 156TH STREET
NEW YORK
1925
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7
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Poet TES OF PARTHIA
AND
Peet OoINES OF CHARACENE:
MISMATIC
PALIMPSEST
menu
BY
EDWARD T. NEWELL
WY
THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY
BROADWAY AT 156rH STREET
NEW YORK
1925
COPYRIGHT I925 BY
+
THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY,
od
MITHRADATES OF PARTHIA
AND
HYSPAOSINES OF CHARACENE:
A NUMISMATIC PALIMPSEST
By Epwarp T. NEWELL
Some fifteen years ago, in a rather typi-
cal parcel of ancient copper coins sent the
writer from Baghdad, there were a num-
ber of unusual pieces bearing the head of
the Parthian king, Mithradates II. These
particular specimens, six in number, form-
l
e
G ed a group by themselves, distinguished
from the remainder of the lot not only by
m. their types but also by a peculiar reddish
M
patina which they bore.. Apparently, they
C.
were a (cid:2810)(cid:2806)find(cid:2807)(cid:2807), ora portion of one. Other
matters intervening, it was not until re-
x cenPtly thaet a perwusal of an article by Col.
§ io MATIC NOTES
T
NI
b
A
ai
NUMIip
A
A. de la Fuye! brought a reminder of the
forgotten parcel from Baghdad. Now,
Col. de la I'uye discusses twenty-seven
pieces similar to the ones described below,
together with twenty-three of the auto-
nomous coins of Seleucia on the Tigris.
The specimens in our lot, as mentioned
above, numbered six. Five belong to one
denomination, and the sixth was evidently
the half of the larger pieces. Their de-
scription is as follows :
MITHRADATES II, 123-87 B.c.
UNIT
Obv. Bearded and diademed head of Mi-
II
thradates tor.
Rev. BAZIAEQ? onr. AP2ZAKOY on
Ornamented cornucopiae, filled
1.
with the usual fruits. Beneath,
A?P
(122-121 B.C.)
AP
No.1 to r. of cornucopiae.
Gr.
75:21:
No. 2 -A@?P to 1. of cornucopiae.
GryAsoy.
No. A? to 1. F tor oi eons
3.
ia
copiae. Gr. 4.52.
NUMISMACPYCah
BF
Pe
MiP 5 Od
owen to.1.,-7P torn of cornu-
copiae. Gr. 5.06.
Mons Suman. Gr. 4.77.
HALF
Obv. Similar to the preceding.
Rev. (BASIAEQ2) onr., APZAKOY on
1. Bow in case, upright.
Beneath, on 1., A?P.
Oi: y (Tce,
O 33
The coins are poorly struck, apparently
from loose dies. No two of the reverse
dies are the same. Because of the rather
weak striking and the interfering traces
of an earlier type it is practically impos-
sible to establish the identity of any two
of the obverse dies.
With the exception of the brief descrip-
tion and (cid:2806)mention made by Col. Allotte de
la Fuye the coins appear not to have been
previously known.
Dela Fuye would assign them to Mi-
thradates I,basing his attribution on the
similarity which he finds between the por-
trait on these copper coins and the head
which appears on certain well-known tetra-
ASD MONOGRAPHS
NUMISMADT
A
EC
drachms and drachms? of that king. But
here a serious difficulty arises. The silver
coins in question bear the two dates [OP
or AOP which can have been reckoned
according to the Seleucid era only. These
silver coins, then, were certainly struck in
I
3abylonia by Mithradates in 140/39
and 139/38 B.c., the two years which in-
tervened between his defeat of Demetrius
II
and his own death. This assignment]
has been followed by the latest authorities
on the subject of the Parthian coinage
and can hardly be seriously questioned.
Our copper coins,'on the other hand, bear
the date A?P which, following the Seleu-
cid system of reckoning, would be 122-1
B.c. Col. de la Fuye refers A?P to the
era of Alexander in Persia (330 B.c.), made
known to us by a Chinese treatise3 on the
life of Mohammed, itself probably a trans-
lation of an earlier Arabic or Persian docu-
ment. This era is further known to us
only from Albiruni(cid:2807)s Athar ul bakiya. Ac-
cording to Col. de la Fuye(cid:2807)s hypothesis,
then, our copper coins must also have been
;
struck in 140/39 B:C.
ONG
NUMISMATIC