Recognition of Metal Sources Used for Extracting Silver for Minting Parthian Coins in the Medes Province by the PIXE Method

Sources which were used for minting coins may help us recognize the mines that Parthians used for mint houses that were marked on their coins. These signs may solve many politico-economic issues or may even lead to the recognition of their mines.The coins under study were related to Ecbatana mint house and were extracted from silver mines through cupellation. The chemical composition of these coins was similar to those extracted for minting coins. In addition to the re-melting of metals, the increased population and expansion of business made new sources for minting coins necessary.In this article, we try to recognize mines and workshops used for minting coins by examining chemical compositions of Parthian coins, and determine the least number of metal workshops for minting coins at the time of the rulers of that dynasty.