Here's my biggest coin purchase of the last couple of months (in terms of value, coin weight, and adding a new area to my collection): Seleucid Empire. AR tetradrachm (24 mm, 16.98 g). Babylon mint. In the name of Alexander III. Issued by Seleukos I Nikator (312-281 BC), c. 311-305 BC. Obverse: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion-skin headdress. Reverse: Zeus seated on throne left, holding eagle and scepter, club below, ALEXANDROU behind, monogram ME below eagle, monogram HD below throne. Price 3772. This coin: Ex Triton XII, lot 1204 (part of group lot). Purchased from @Ken Dorney . When Alexander III of Macedon, aka Alexander the Great, died in 323 BC, he left behind a clear, detailed plan of succession, ensuring that his vast empire would continue to be administered as a single well-functioning unit for generations to come... Just kidding, his top generals almost immediately fell to squabbling, leading to several decades of war ending in several very unequally powerful successor states. Seleukos would be the biggest winner, at least in terms of land area, as shown in this map: (Map courtesy Wikipedia, used under a Creative Commons license) Seleukos ended up in charge of the Eastern regions of Alexander's empire, including most of Mesopotamia, Persia, Media, and territory up to the border of India. In 305 BC, he made a peace treaty with the Mauryan king Chandragupta, under which Chandragupta married Seleukos' daughter and received some territorial concessions, and Seleukos received a gift of 500 war elephants which proved useful in his continuing wars. Also in 305 BC, Seleukos moved his capital from Babylon to the newly founded city of Seleukia on the Tigris, which was the start of the long decline of Babylon's importance. He would go on to take Asia Minor and Syria, and founded Antioch on the Orontes. By the time of his death in 281 BC, he was the last of Alexander's contemporaries to hold power. His son Antiochus I would take over the Seleukid Empire, which would eventually see its eastern regions nibbled away by the Bactrians and Parthians but would endure in Syria until the first century BC, when the expanding Roman state finally absorbed what was left. This coin continues the design used by Alexander, even including his name despite his demise years earlier. Alexander's coinage was already known and accepted over a huge area, so it made sense to keep issuing coins of recognized quality. Later in his reign, Seleukos issued coins with new designs and featuring his own name, perhaps as part of a deliberate plan to establish a new Seleukid Imperial identity that was not just a continuation of Alexander's kingdom. I decided to buy this coin as part of my project to expand my collection from a solely Parthian focus to a broader survey of Persian history from the Achaemenid era to the early Islamic period. This is not my first Seleukid coin- I have a couple of later bronzes- but it is my first that was minted while the Seleukids controlled Persia, and minted in a city that was Persian for a long time. Post your related coins here.
I bought this Babylon tet for the simple reason I wanted one from the year and place where Alexander died: Kingdom of Macedonia, Alexander III, The Great, 336 – 323 BC Silver Tetradrachm, Babylon Mint, struck circa 324/323 BC, 25mm, 17.05 grams Obverse: Head of Herakles right wearing lions skin. Reverse: AΛEΞANΔPOY, Zeus enthroned left holding eagle and scepter, Nike flying left holding wreath in left field, monogram beneath throne, M below. References: Price 3625 Provenance: Triskeles Auctions #325, June 2017, Lot 134.
Very nice coin and write-up @Parthicus you got a nice one. The tets of Seleukos from Babylon are some of the most plentiful and inexpensive of all the Diadochi. If you are looking to expand your collection of Seleucid coins from Persian lands there were tetradrachms struck at Ekbatana and Susa. I'll add another getet from Babylon.
Nice writeup, @Parthicus! @Ken Dorney and @TheRed, those are both beautiful and artistic coins. I want an ATG Babylon tet for the same reason as you, Ken. Their artistry is a nice bonus.
TIF said it perfectly! Great Tetradrachms, these were skillfully crafted designs in times of great infighting amongst Alexander's Generals, which in the end resulted in his Empire's demise. Thanks for posting/ Ken Dorney/ TheRed/ Parthicus
