KINGS OF ARMENIA. Tiridates II (?), circa 217-252. Half Unit (Bronze, 17 mm, 3.44 g, 12 h), Artaxata. Bearded head of Tiridates II to left, wearing five-pointed tiara tied with a diadem; all within laurel wreath. Rev. Stylized twin peaks of Mount Ararat, as seen from Artaxata; all within laurel wreath. Kovacs 207 (this coin). Of the highest rarity, and the Kovacs plate coin. Slightly rough, otherwise, about very fine.


The assignment of the latest Armenian coins remains problematic today due to the crude and often rudimentary Aramaic legends. We follow Kovacs, who attributes these pieces to Tiridates II (217-252), indicating that royal-Armenian coins were issued for the last time after a 140-year interruption following the death of Tiridates I around 77 AD. In the series of Tiridates II, the coins featuring Mount Ararat are by far the rarest. The present coin is one of a very few known examples of this issue, and the Kovacs plate coin.