Sale: Triton VII, Lot: 410. Estimate $200.  Closing Date: Monday, 12 January 2004.  Sold For $350. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of PARTHIA. Phraates II. 132-126 BC. AR Drachm (3.60 gm). Tambrax mint. Struck circa 128-126 BC. Short-bearded bust left wearing diadem; TAM behind / BASI-LEWS MEG-ALOU ARSAKOU QEOPATOROS, Arsakes I seated right on omphalos, holding bow. Sellwood 16.11; Shore 50; BMC Parthia pg. 17, 15; MACW 500. Toned, nice VF. Artistic dies. ($300)

The S16 drachms with partial mint names 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 north-eastern 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.