This silver tetradrachm, graded ‘good, exceedingly fine’, shows Mithradates in his pomp wearing a diadem, while to the verso is Perseus holding the severed head of Medusa in one hand and a harp in the other.
The subject was deliberately chosen as Perseus was both a Greek and an Assyrian hero. One of only four tetradrachms of Mithradates IV to appear at auction in the past two decades, this example offered at Roma Numismatics is a rare die type. It sold for £44,000 (plus 22.5% buyer’s premium) on July 5.