After recently diving into Seleucid coins, and getting a tetradrachm of Antiochus II Theos, I decided to get one of his father, Antiochus I Soter. Antiochus I was son of the Seleucus I, one of the successor generals of Alexander The Great. Interestingly enough he was half Sogdian( an Iranian ethnic group found in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan) by way of his mother Apema who was married to Seleucus by Alexander in 324 CE. Antiochus I was born in late 324 or early 323, which would make him the only member of the 2nd generation of Diadochi who was alive when Alexander was. Antiochus’s life is too detailed to go into in depth, and this YouTuber can explain it better than I ever could. One thing that is interesting though, is that Antiochus I was the last King to be proclaimed “King of the Universe”, by the Babylonian priest class. Toward the end of his reign Babylon would be sidelined by a newer city further up north; Seleucia on the Tigris. I’m pretty new to these coins so I have no idea how the dealer was able to differentiate this coin from ones of Antiochus’s II, as they look identical to me. Anyhow Antiochus I Soter Tetradrachm SC 379.3c; HGC 9 16.73 g Seleukeia on the Tigris mint. Diademed head right / Apollo Delphios, testing arrow and resting hand on grounded bow, seated left on omphalos; monograms to outer left and right.
A very realistic portrait. You feel like you would recognize him on the street. An interesting area to collect that I keep thinking of getting into. John
Coins of Antiochus I and Antiochus II can be extremely similar. Both issued the OP type with the same portrait of Antiochus I. Somehow the experts have managed to distinguish the two rulers and mints by the monograms in the fields. Here is my Antiochus II: Antiochus II, Theos, 261-246 BC. 28 mm. 16.52 grams. Portrait of Antiochus I (note: Antiochus I, not II) Apollo seated left on omphalos, holding arrow and grounded bow. Houghton, Seleucid Coins, 587.1c with these monograms. Minted at Seleukia on the Tigris ACNAC Houghton 963v, plate 57. Sear Greek 6886 variety. Hoover Handbook 236g I agree. It is a distinctive portrait.
Seleucid coins are beautiful. All of mine are Æ but if I were to purchase a tetradrachm it would be an Antiochus I like yours. I often wonder what circumstances the king is dealing with that would cause him to have such a facial expression.
Cool pickup @Magnus Maximus . Wanted to focus more on Seleucids when I got my first ones, but this goal fell to the wayside as I started to look at other Greek coins. I’ll still dabble occasionally. I don’t have Antiochus II but I do have a later Antiochus. Antiochus VII, Seleucid Kingdom AR tetradrachm Obv: Diademed head right within border Rev: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY EYEΡΓETOY, Athena standing left, holding Nike in right hand, spear, and shield decorated with face in left hand Mint: Antioch Date: 138-129 BC Ref: HGC 1067
That is a great tet @Magnus Maximus I really like it. An interesting fact about Antiochus I, he was half Greek and half Iranian. His mother was a Sogdian princess that Alexander had given his father to marry after the conquest of Babylon. Here is one of my tets of his. Antiochus I Soter AR Tetradrachm. 281-261 BC Seleucia on the Tigris Obv: Diademed head of Antiochus I r. Rev: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ Apollo seated left on omphalos, holding arrow and resting w/ hand on grounded bow; monograms in outer l. and r. fields.
Lovely coin everyone. @Valentinian Here is one of Antiochus II that looks nearly indistinguishable from his fathers coins.
Beautiful coin with some handsome toning! A tet of his still high on my list of wants. Though I have some bronzes: Antiochos I Soter Seleukid Kingdom (281-261 BC). AE (15mm, 2.49g). Smyrna or Sardes. Helmeted head of Athena facing / BAΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ. Nike standing left, holding wreath and palm frond, Monogram to outer left. SC 315a; HGC 9, 167. Former: Kairos Antiochos I. Coregency with Seleucis I 294-281 BCE Æ Ai Khanoum mint. Struck circa 285-281 BCE. Charging bull right; P Π monogram above / BAΣIΛEΩN ΣEΛEΥKOΥ ANTIOXOΥ, above and below shaft of Anchor; delta circle monogram below. SC 286(2) var. (obverse control). VF, dark brown And it wouldn't be responsible of me too not post this guy... Antiochos I Soter Shield with Anchor Æ20 6.09 grams 20mm Obv. Macedonian Shield with Anchor motif Rv. BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY Above and below elephant walking right OME monogram (obscured by Anchor counter stamp) and club above Jaw bone of boar in exergue BMC 37 Former fvrivs.rvfvs
Nice coins all!!! And an interesting period in history. Here's an interesting book on the time: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520057371/the-hellenistic-world-and-the-coming-of-rome written by a professor of mine in college...
Beautiful coins M.M. VERY collectable. Mine are mine, and here they are . . . (1) LYDIA Sardes Antiochos I Soter SG 6879 (3) LYDIA Sardes Antiochos II Theo SC 351.1
I consider these early Seleucid issues to be 'real' coins that circulated in the economy enough that we have a wide range of conditions in all price brackets. I have never been a specialist level student of Seleucids but this well used and abused Antiochus I(?) tetradrachm has been with me since 1987. It was sold to me as VG but hardly anyone sells coins graded that low anymore so it might have healed to a Fine with surface problems by now. In another century it may be AU? Certainly many of you would prefer no coin to one like this but the option exists for those on a budget. Coins like this feel good to the fingers. They don't scream like the MS ones do when touched.