The Arsacid kings issued silver drachms and bronze chalkoi at Ecbatana, Seleucia, Susa, Mithradatkart and Rhagae. Reverse types are remarkably consistent: the seated archer Arsaces.
Parthian coins are the silver drachms and large tetradrachms of the Arsacid empire (247 BCE–224 CE): a diademed or tiara-wearing king on the obverse and a seated archer holding a bow on the reverse, with Greek legends that grow progressively more blundered over five centuries.
| Period | 247 BCE – 224 CE |
|---|---|
| Silver drachm | ~3.5–4.0 g, mainly Ecbatana and Rhagae |
| Tetradrachm | ~14–16 g, Seleucia on the Tigris |
| Reverse type | Seated archer with bow |
| Dating | Seleucid era on tetradrachms (subtract 312 for BCE) |
The everyday coin is the silver drachm of roughly 3.5–4 g, struck in huge numbers at Ecbatana (Hamadan) and Rhagae. The prestige coin is the tetradrachm of 14–16 g, struck almost exclusively at Seleucia on the Tigris and often carrying a Seleucid-era date and month name — the only reliable absolute dates in the series.
Bronze issues circulated locally and are usually attributed by the same portrait and reverse conventions.
Attribution rests on headgear, beard and hairstyle rather than legend, since the Greek inscriptions become increasingly formulaic and eventually illegible. Early kings wear a soft bashlyk cap; Mithradates II introduces the tall domed tiara; later rulers wear a diadem with tiered hair and prominent wart-like facial features that are diagnostic of individual reigns.
The reverse archer sits on an omphalos or throne depending on period, and the arrangement of the legend's lines is itself a dating tool. Sellwood's type numbers are the standard reference and are quoted by every dealer.
Common drachms of Mithradates II, Orodes II and Vologases are affordable in decent grade and make an easy entry into the series. Tetradrachms are scarcer, larger and more expensive; early Arsacid drachms and rare mints command real premiums. Because dates appear only on the Seleucia tetradrachms, a dated coin is always worth more to a specialist.
Parthian drachms span ~470 years and 30+ rulers from Arsaces I to Artabanus IV. Sellwood's typology (S1–S94) remains the standard reference.
The seated archer on the reverse is the founder Arsaces, deified — a powerful dynastic statement.
Late Parthian tetradrachms from Seleucia are dated by Seleucid Era and often name the king explicitly.
Mithradates I
ObverseDiademed bust left in Greek style.
ReverseArcher Arsaces seated on omphalos; Greek legend BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ.
First king to title himself 'Great King'.
Mithradates II
ObverseBust with tiara crown — first appearance of Parthian tiara.
ReverseArcher seated; expanded titulature 'King of Kings'.
Coinage shifts from Greek to Iranian royal imagery.
Orodes I
ObverseDiademed bust of Orodes I left, with short beard.
ReverseSeated archer Arsaces holding bow, Greek legend in margin.
Orodes I ruled in a turbulent period of Arsacid civil war. His successor Orodes II would later defeat Crassus at Carrhae (53 BCE).
Vologases VI
ObverseBearded bust with high tiara, crudely engraved.
ReverseStylised seated archer; legend in degraded Greek and Aramaic.
Vologases VI was the last Arsacid king; he was overthrown by Ardashir I, who founded the Sasanian Empire.
Phraates IV
ObverseDiademed bust of Phraates IV left, with characteristic 'wart' on the forehead and stylised curls.
ReversePhraates enthroned receiving palm-frond from Tyche of Seleucia; Greek legend with Seleucid-era date.
Phraates IV defeated Mark Antony's Parthian expedition (36 BCE) and later received the four Roman legionary standards lost at Carrhae back from Augustus (20 BCE) — a diplomatic coup commemorated on Roman coinage. His Seleucia tetradrachms are precisely dated month-by-month.
Vologases I
ObverseDiademed bust of Vologases I left, beard short and stylised.
ReverseKing enthroned receiving diadem from standing Tyche; Greek legend, Seleucid-era month and year.
Vologases I founded a new dynastic branch and is credited by Pahlavi tradition with the first systematic collection of the Avesta. His reign coincided with Rome's wars over Armenia and the Treaty of Rhandeia (63 CE).
Artabanus IV (last Arsacid)
ObverseBearded bust of Artabanus IV facing left, wearing high tiara.
ReverseSeated archer Arsaces; degenerate Greek legend in pellet border.
Killed by Ardashir I at the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224 CE — the end of the Arsacid dynasty after nearly five centuries and the dawn of the Sasanian empire.
Darius II of Persis (Darayan)
ObverseDiademed bust of the local king with elaborate beard, in Aramaic-Persian style.
ReverseStanding figure before a fire altar — proto-Sasanian iconography centuries before the Sasanian dynasty.
The semi-autonomous Frataraka and later kings of Persis ruled the Achaemenid homeland under Seleucid then Parthian overlordship. Their coins preserve Persian religious iconography (fire altar, royal figure) that the Sasanians would revive and standardise.
Kamnaskires V of Elymais
ObverseDiademed bust of the king left, with anchor symbol behind.
ReverseDiademed bust of Athena or local deity; degraded Greek legend.
The Kingdom of Elymais — successor to ancient Elam in lowland Khuzestan — minted vassal coinage under Parthian overlordship. Their stylised portraits are some of the most distinctive of the period.
Vahbarz / Vadfradad (Frataraka)
ObverseFrataraka in Persian dress, satrap's cap with diadem.
ReverseStanding king before fire altar with Achaemenid-style stepped façade; Aramaic legend.
The Frataraka ('Foremost') were local princes of Persis (modern Fars) who minted in a deliberate revival of Achaemenid iconography — the ideological seed-bed of the later Sasanian dynasty. Image: related Persis silver of Darius II of Persis.
Attambelos I of Characene
ObverseDiademed bust of the king right.
ReverseSeated Herakles with Greek and later Aramaic legend.
The Kingdom of Characene at the head of the Persian Gulf was a Parthian vassal controlling Indian Ocean trade. Its coins debased steadily as silver gave way to lead-bronze. Image: related Elymaean billon tetradrachm.