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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Pavlos, post: 3494749, member: 96635&quot;]I did a write up about this coin if anyone is interested:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/IKUOYbD.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><b>Antiochos III Megas (223 B.C. - 187 B.C.) Bronze Coin. Military mint in Ekbatana ca. 210 B.C. and countermarked in Coele-Syria during Fifth Syrian War Ca. 202-198 B.C.</b></p><p><b>Obverse: </b>Laureate head of Antiochos III as Apollo right, doted border.</p><p><b>Reverse: </b>ΒΑΣΙΛEΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ. Elephant right, ridden by mahout, two countermarks: anchor in oblong punch in left field and horse&#039;s head in square punch under elephant’s belly.</p><p><br /></p><p>Soldiers received two kinds of pay. <i>Opsonion</i>(regular wages) was due at the end of the month in peacetime, but in wartime could be paid at other established intervals or postponed until the end of the campaign. <i>Sitarchia</i> (provision money) replaced actual rations, allowing the troops to provision themselves in advance, often at specially regulated markets. <i>Sitarchia</i> was payable at the beginning of the month and obviously could not be postponed or allowed to fall in arrears. <i>Opsonion</i> and <i>Sitarchia</i> each average about 3 to 4 obols per day, or 15-20 drachms per month. These payments of 15-20 drachms would most conventiently be rendered in silver. However, there is meager evidence for the circulation of silver coins of Antiochos III in Coele-Syria, leaving bronze as the only medium of payment for the Seleukid army during the Fifth Syrian War. Quite possibly the <i>Opsonion</i> was paid in silver after the army withdrew from Coele-Syria. But <i>Sitarchia</i>, which have to be provided regulary, came in the form of bronze coins. This was certaintly more practical for the soldiers than 15-20 drachms, since prices from both Egypt and Babylonia indicate that a drachm would purchase a month’s supply of Barley for an individual and two drachms about a month’s supply of wheat. Fractions were therefore needed to purchase food to be consumed in lesser quantity. This was obviously also in advantage for military expenses, as bronze had only a low intrinsic value. Such bronze coinage was likely not greeted in a contested region accustomed to Ptolemaic currency. These bronzes with doubtful instrinsic value issued by the Seleukid king would almost certainly be worthless for them. However, it seems inevitable that some degree of coercion was required to ensure acceptance for these Seleukid bronze coins, which was essential for the functioning of the army.</p><p><br /></p><p>The elephant bronzes with mahout of Antiochos III were struck at different times and at different parts in the Seleukid Empire, but all were associated with military operations and soldiers&#039; pay. The earlier types were struck at a military mint associated with Ekbatana around 210 B.C., and the later ones come from a military mint operating of Coele-Syria during the Fifth Syrian War. The horse&#039;s head below the elephant and the anchor in the left field indicates this copies the later issues of Coele-Syria. This was to make the older bronzes ‘equalivant’ to subsequent issues with a horse head symbol under the elephant’s belly and a tripod or anchor in the left field. It served to reiterate the basic guarentee of the value of these military bronze coins in the face of local uncertainty. The Seleukid army needed to impose the use of this fiduciary coinage on the population of Ptolemaic Coele-Syria during the Fifth Syrian War in order to ensure provisions for its troops. The Seleukid retreat in spring 200 BC will have created a particular need to revalidate these coins when the Seleukids again advanced after the battle of Pantion. The bronzes were apparently first countermarked with a horse head, and later with an anchor.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.coinproject.com/siteimages/97-812208.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><i>Example of a subsequent issued coin from military mint during the Fifth Syrian War with an anchor left of the elephant (late issue).</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p>Notice the much less circulation wear on the above coin compared to mine. My coin may have circulated 12 years long until the above coin got minted and had most probably touched a lot of soldier&#039;s hands.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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