Tiridates II - AE unit - Bust left

Identifier

Kovacs-204; Nurpetlian 2015, nos. 1-13; ANRO-880

Reference Description

Tiridates II 217-252 AD
AE unit
Obv. Bearded head of Tiridates II left, wearing short tiara with three or four peaks, diadem tied with large loop, wreath border.
Rev. Aramaic inscription in two lines.

Recent Sales

	Auction	Date	Characteristics	Realized
15	Leu Web 24 Lot 1537	2-Dec-2022	23mm, 5.86g, 6h	-
14	Naumann 100 Lot 271	6-Mar-2021	23mm, 5.87g	EUR 350
13	Leu Web 14 Lot 535	11-Dec-2020	26mm, 6.29g, 5h	CHF 110
12	Naumann 97 Lot 252	5-Dec-2020	24mm, 5.49g	EUR 80
11	Kunker 341 Lot 5042	30-Sep-2020	5.85g	EUR 340
10	Leu Web 12 Lot 556	29-May-2020	25mm, 5.19g, 6h	CHF 320
9	Leu 5 Lot 188	26-Oct-2019	25mm, 5.19g, 6h	CHF 320
8	Leu Web 9 Lot 506	6-Sep-2019	25mm, 5.94g, 12h	CHF 220
7	Leu Web 8 Lot 536	28-Jun-2019	27mm, 4.52g, 11h	CHF 95
6	Obolos Web 12 Lot 447	30-Mar-2019	23mm, 5.87g, 11h	CHF 850
5	Leu 2 Lot 144	10-May-2018	26mm, 6.08g, 12h	CHF 1,200
4	Leu Web 2 Lot 309	2-Dec-2017	24mm, 6.26g, 11h	CHF 550
3	CNG e278 Lot 128	25-Apr-2012	26mm, 6.81g, 12h	$1,200
2	CNG e166 Lot 68	13-Jun-2007	23mm, 5.15g	$165
1	CNG 69 Lot 505	8-Jun-2005	22mm, 6.95g, 12h	$1,235

Notes

The coins cautiously attributed to this king have been only recently published in any numbers and the reading of the king's name is still being debated. Two coins have been found in excavatations at ancient Artaxata in Armenia and others are reported to have been found there, so Armenian origin seems likely, if not certain. Tiridates's head surrounded by a wreath on the larger coins (unit) is likely emblematic of his success in thwarting the Sasanian attracks on his kingdom. On one of the two smaller denominations (half-unit) is a crudely drawn twin-peaked Mt. Ararat.

Kovacs, Frank L. “Armenian Coinage in the Classical Period” CNS 10, Classical Numismatic Group, Lancaster, 2016, pp. 35.