Sellwood 2nd Edition (1980) Parthian Coin Types
"New Parthian Coin Types" (1989)
"The End of the Parthian Dynasty" (1990)
"Parthian Gold Coins" (1991)
"The 'Victory' Drachms of Phraates IV" (1996)
"Parthians and Scythians" (1998)
Types Unlisted by Sellwood
Index of Sellwood Types by Ruler
Sellwood Types and Subtypes
Parthian Coin Images Needed

David Sellwood's An Introduction to the Coinage of Parthia (London: Spink, 1980, 2nd ed.) is the essential tool for cataloging Parthian coins. You should always consider the king's name a tentative attribution and thus include Sellwood's type number with each reference to your coin. This is because the B.C. history of the Parthians is so unsettled that attributions by a king's name may easily change (and frequently have, the reason so many catalogs conflict); it is a bit more sure A.D., but may still change. Sellwood numbers are the constant used by scholars and collectors world-wide; however, note that some texts predate the 2nd edition (1980) and use the earlier Sellwood 1st edition (1971) numbering. Sellwood's book is not only a catalog, it is a typology; all the other references are just catalogs. Also, Sellwood continues to publish new types from time to time in journal articles. See the Attribution Correlation Chart to cross-reference Sellwood (1980) type numbers with Sellwood (1971) types and the attributions of other catalogs. Also see the Index of Sellwood Types by Ruler page. Go to the Parthian coin images needed page to see a list of those required to complete this virtual coin collection.

Click on a type number to locate examples:

Sellwood 2nd Edition (1980) Parthian Coin Types

Numismatic Chronicle, "New Parthian Coin Types" (1989)

In "New Parthian Coin Types" (Numismatic Chronicle 149, 1989), Sellwood documented a hoard of silver coins that appeared on the market beginning in 1984. The majority of the coins were diobols from Persis, but the hoard included a small group of Parthian coins, none of them published before 1984. Sellwood arranged the coins into seven types indicated in the following chart. A selection of these coins, including several from David Sellwood's collection, are presented on the Sellwood 1989 page.

Spink Numismatic Circular, "The End of the Parthian Dynasty" (1990)

In An Introduction to the Coinage of Parthia (1980), Sellwood listed type 89.4 as a coin of Artabanus with an uncertain Parthian Aramaic inscription. In 1990, he corrected the inscription based on the appearance of other coins. It is now clear that the inscription reads tr'dt (= Tiridates).  An Arsacid with this name was elected king of Armenia circa A.D. 216, but we cannot be certain it is the same as the Tiridates who issued these coins. The Armenian king appears to have died before the final battle with the Sasanians. Sellwood concludes that, in any event, Tiridates was the last of the Arsacid ruler of Parthia.

Proceedings of the XIth International Numismatic Congress,
"Parthian Gold Coins" (1991)

"The 'Victory' Drachms of Phraates IV" (1996)

"Parthians and Scythians" (1998)

Unlisted Types

The following types are not listed by Sellwood in the above publications, but recent research indicates  coins may now be attributed to these rulers.

This page last updated 14 Mar 2021