Lot 197: Kingdom of Persis. Uncertain king I. 2nd century B.C. AR drachm.

Kingdom of Persis. Uncertain king I. 2nd century B.C. AR drachm (15 mm, 3.97 g, 6 h). Head right, wearing diadem and satrapal cap surmounted by eagle; scar on cheek / Fire temple, Ahura-Mazda above, on left, king standing right; to right, standard surmounted by eagle. Cf. K&M 3/5 (crescent on back of cap); Alram 551 var. (same); Sunrise -. Well struck in high relief. Superb extremely fine.

There are two issues generally recorded for the Kings of Persis which show the king wearing a satrapal cap surmounted by an eagle: one attributed to Autophradates II and one usually attributed to an Uncertain King I. The issue of Autophradates (Alram 547) has a very distinctive style portrait that is readily identifiable, and which is different from this coin. This coin has a portrait style nearly identical to the issues attributed to Uncertain King I (Alram 551) except for two features: there is usually a crescent on the back of the cap, which this coin lacks, and the portrait on this coin shows a scar on the king's cheek, a feature also found on the hemidrachms and obols of this issue, but not present on Alram 551-3. Interestingly, neither Alram, K&M or Sunrise illustrate an example without the crescent and with a scar, although a number of them have been observed on the market. Does this represent a different, yet identified king, or perhaps a later issue for the Uncertain King I after he received an injury in battle?

• Offered By: Barry P. Murphy
• Lot #: 197
• Listing #: 192617
• Closed: Tuesday, December 13, 2016 5:38:00 PM CT
• Estimate: $200