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<p>[QUOTE="David@PCC, post: 3785823, member: 80556"]I like coins that present a mystery, and this one has yet to be solved. Some background will be needed as most are probably unaware of this issue of coinage. </p><p><br /></p><p>The proposed date of the coin in question is generally around the third Syrian war between the Seleucids and Ptolemies, at least that is a good place to start. Prior during the 2nd Syrian war Antiochus II made peace with Ptolemy II after 8 years of war. The stipulation was that Antiochus marry Ptolemy's daughter Berenice Syra. This was advantageous to Prolemy as the child of this marriage and future ruler would be from the house of Ptolemy. There was one problem however, Antiochus was already married to his cousin Laodice I. </p><p><br /></p><p>But to make peace, Antiochus divorced his wife and married Berenice. The <i>happy</i> marriage lasted a few years until Ptolemy died, at which point Antiochus decided to go back to his first wife. After the divorce Laodice moved into a palace in Anatolia. It has been said Antiochus preferred Laodice as a wife even giving land grants after the divorce. </p><p><br /></p><p>That may have been the end of the story, but Berenice's brother Ptolemy III demanded that Antiochus honor his second marriage. It seems Antiochus was in quite a pickle at this point, and I'm sure there was much back and forth with him. When a large rival kingdom is threatening to crush you, such decisions need to be thought at. What ever happened he choose poorly and was most likely killed by Laodice who was fed up with the matter. </p><p><br /></p><p>Now Antiochus did have 2 sons with Laodice, and 1 with Berenice. You can see where this is going. Already having probably murdered Antiochus, she arranged the murder of Berenice and her son, now around age 5. Ptolemy wasted no time and promptly marched on Antioch where Berenice was holding out to aid his sister, after all she was still the queen. </p><p><br /></p><p>Not knowing exactly what was taking place in Antioch Ptolemy arrived a tad too late to prevent the murder of his sister and nephew. Things are a bit fuzzy after this at least in Antioch, but Laodice promoted her son Seleucus II to king. However there still was support for Berenice and her son, and it is believed (possibly) that Ptolemy hid the fact his sister was dead. Ptolemy was free to roam around the Eastern empire, possibly due to this fact but was recalled a year or so later by an Egyptian revolt. </p><p><br /></p><p>All of this of course started the third Syrian war which would eventually pit the 2 sons of Antiochus against each other. Now for the coin. These are grouped together because of the inscription they all share which is ΣΩTHPOΣ ANTIOXOY or of the savior Antiochus. Now which Antiochus does the coin refer is commonly accepted as Antiochus I Soter due to the title and portrait. What is unusual is that this is the first instance of using an epitaph on a coin within the dynasty. That makes the issuer a bit of a mystery. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1010885[/ATTACH] </p><p>Unknown</p><p>Mint associated with Antioch</p><p>246 to 244 BC</p><p>Obvs: Diademed head of Antiochos I right.</p><p>Revs: ΣΩTHPOΣ ANTIOXOY, anchor between caps of the Dioskouroi; ΔEΛ monogram to right.</p><p>AE 15x17mm, 3.75g</p><p>Ref: SC 642; HGC 10, 296(R3)</p><p><br /></p><p>What is probable is the mintmark on the reverse of ΔEΛ which is associated with a mint within Antioch from later coins that use this mark. But it is believed the first use of this mintmark was in Antioch but just not at the primary mint. Also a mystery is the reverse symbolism of an anchor and Dioscuri caps. Certainly the anchor represents Seleucid power and the caps were also used during the reign of Antiochus II. As others have pointed out the Dioscuri could also represent Egypt as that is a common theme. One more oddity with this series is the use of a new denomination, an Octadrachm that shares a die with Tetradrachms and is unique. This denomination is common for Egypt but not the Seleucids.</p><p><br /></p><p>So there you go, a coin with a long deceased ruler on it that was issued anonymously, with an unknown date, mint, and purpose. Perhaps when I have more time I will come up with my own identification theory. </p><p><br /></p><p>The possible candidates are Antiochus II to honor his father, Berenice to pay for troops and her protection, Ptolemy III to pay Seleucid troops under the guise of his sister, Laodice to secure the empire (even though she didn't control Antioch), garrisons of Antioch, and finally the sons of Laodice. Did I forget anybody?</p><p><br /></p><p>This post could be very long but I recommend reading <i>Antiochos Soter and the Third Syrian War</i> by Kyle Erickson that talks specifically about this series. And here is a pedigree chart to help out with the confusing cousin marrying, ect...</p><p>From this <a href="http://www.friesian.com/hist-1.htm#text-8" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.friesian.com/hist-1.htm#text-8" rel="nofollow">site</a></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1010908[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I welcome any discussion or other coins.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="David@PCC, post: 3785823, member: 80556"]I like coins that present a mystery, and this one has yet to be solved. Some background will be needed as most are probably unaware of this issue of coinage. The proposed date of the coin in question is generally around the third Syrian war between the Seleucids and Ptolemies, at least that is a good place to start. Prior during the 2nd Syrian war Antiochus II made peace with Ptolemy II after 8 years of war. The stipulation was that Antiochus marry Ptolemy's daughter Berenice Syra. This was advantageous to Prolemy as the child of this marriage and future ruler would be from the house of Ptolemy. There was one problem however, Antiochus was already married to his cousin Laodice I. But to make peace, Antiochus divorced his wife and married Berenice. The [I]happy[/I] marriage lasted a few years until Ptolemy died, at which point Antiochus decided to go back to his first wife. After the divorce Laodice moved into a palace in Anatolia. It has been said Antiochus preferred Laodice as a wife even giving land grants after the divorce. That may have been the end of the story, but Berenice's brother Ptolemy III demanded that Antiochus honor his second marriage. It seems Antiochus was in quite a pickle at this point, and I'm sure there was much back and forth with him. When a large rival kingdom is threatening to crush you, such decisions need to be thought at. What ever happened he choose poorly and was most likely killed by Laodice who was fed up with the matter. Now Antiochus did have 2 sons with Laodice, and 1 with Berenice. You can see where this is going. Already having probably murdered Antiochus, she arranged the murder of Berenice and her son, now around age 5. Ptolemy wasted no time and promptly marched on Antioch where Berenice was holding out to aid his sister, after all she was still the queen. Not knowing exactly what was taking place in Antioch Ptolemy arrived a tad too late to prevent the murder of his sister and nephew. Things are a bit fuzzy after this at least in Antioch, but Laodice promoted her son Seleucus II to king. However there still was support for Berenice and her son, and it is believed (possibly) that Ptolemy hid the fact his sister was dead. Ptolemy was free to roam around the Eastern empire, possibly due to this fact but was recalled a year or so later by an Egyptian revolt. All of this of course started the third Syrian war which would eventually pit the 2 sons of Antiochus against each other. Now for the coin. These are grouped together because of the inscription they all share which is ΣΩTHPOΣ ANTIOXOY or of the savior Antiochus. Now which Antiochus does the coin refer is commonly accepted as Antiochus I Soter due to the title and portrait. What is unusual is that this is the first instance of using an epitaph on a coin within the dynasty. That makes the issuer a bit of a mystery. [ATTACH=full]1010885[/ATTACH] Unknown Mint associated with Antioch 246 to 244 BC Obvs: Diademed head of Antiochos I right. Revs: ΣΩTHPOΣ ANTIOXOY, anchor between caps of the Dioskouroi; ΔEΛ monogram to right. AE 15x17mm, 3.75g Ref: SC 642; HGC 10, 296(R3) What is probable is the mintmark on the reverse of ΔEΛ which is associated with a mint within Antioch from later coins that use this mark. But it is believed the first use of this mintmark was in Antioch but just not at the primary mint. Also a mystery is the reverse symbolism of an anchor and Dioscuri caps. Certainly the anchor represents Seleucid power and the caps were also used during the reign of Antiochus II. As others have pointed out the Dioscuri could also represent Egypt as that is a common theme. One more oddity with this series is the use of a new denomination, an Octadrachm that shares a die with Tetradrachms and is unique. This denomination is common for Egypt but not the Seleucids. So there you go, a coin with a long deceased ruler on it that was issued anonymously, with an unknown date, mint, and purpose. Perhaps when I have more time I will come up with my own identification theory. The possible candidates are Antiochus II to honor his father, Berenice to pay for troops and her protection, Ptolemy III to pay Seleucid troops under the guise of his sister, Laodice to secure the empire (even though she didn't control Antioch), garrisons of Antioch, and finally the sons of Laodice. Did I forget anybody? This post could be very long but I recommend reading [I]Antiochos Soter and the Third Syrian War[/I] by Kyle Erickson that talks specifically about this series. And here is a pedigree chart to help out with the confusing cousin marrying, ect... From this [URL='http://www.friesian.com/hist-1.htm#text-8']site[/URL] [ATTACH=full]1010908[/ATTACH] I welcome any discussion or other coins.[/QUOTE]
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