197, Lot: 45. Estimate $150. Sold for $200. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of PARTHIA. Phraates II. 132-126 BC. AR Drachm (20mm, 4.17 g, 12h). Tambrax mint. Struck circa 128-126 BC. Diademed bust left; TAM behind / Archer (Arsakes I) seated right on omphalos, holding bow. Sellwood 16.11; Shore 50. VF, flan crack.

The Sellwood 16 drachms with partial mint names behind the bust constitute the final issues of Phraates' coinage, as their locations indicate the prolonged and initially successful military campaign he conducted against the Sakae in north and northeastern Parthia. With his headquarters likely situated at Tambrax, Phraates' forces pushed the Sakae as far as Margiane, but they were ultimately defeated in a battle in which Phaates perished.