So, feeling braver and more knowledgeable after the help rendered yesterday, I tackled the last four of my coins. At least I had a head start on these because all four at least had rulers listed. I figured I would share for fun and for the chance to be corrected, if need be. Trying to compare the BMC catalogue mentioned in the other thread with the Wildwinds sources seems to come up a little...'off'. It seems like there may not be some exact matches or at least information was left out of one or more of the references so exact matches may be a guess if certain varieties were not listed. 1. Antiochus VII 138 - 129 BC Antioch Mint AE18 6.3gr O: NO LEGEND; Winged bust of Eros, right. R: BASILEWS ANTIOCOU, Headdress of Isis with legend on either side, vertically, and date in exergue. Antioch Mint SNG Cop 326; BMC 49 2. Seleukos III, Keraunus 226 - 222BC Denomination C Antioch Mint AE13 ~3gr O: NO LEGEND; Laureate head of Apollo, right. R: BASILEWS SELEUKOU; Apollo seated on omphalos, holding bow and arrow, drapery over omphalos; legends on either side, vertically. Exergue: YX monogram to left (?). BMC 6; SC 924; Houghton 63; Newell 1043; SNGIs 522 3. Demetrius I, Soter 162 - 150BC Akko, Phoenicia (Axe-Ptolemais) Mint 14mm, Serrate; ~2gr O: NO LEGEND; Diademed portrait of Demetrius I. R: BASILEWS DHMHTRIOU; Local deity, thought to be Demeter/Atargatis, standing facing, holding long torch or scepter; legends on either side, vertically. Hoover 838; SC 1679; cf BMC 28 (Demetrius II) 4. Antiochus III 223 - 187BC Antioch ad Orontem Mint 14mm ~2gr O: NO LEGEND; Laureate head of Apollo, right, long hair in curls. R: BASILEWS ANTIOCOU; Elephant advancing left; legends on either side, vertically. Exergue: Monograms above and below, in square. BMC 56; Houghton SC 977; Hoover 517
The Seleucids are the ancient world's unstable giant; at their height they controlled most of the territory from the hellespont to the indus. Though a large part of this territory was only under nominal Seleucid control. At their height they could not have fielded more than 100,000 soldiers. Compare this to the Roman Republic which had over 80,000 soldiers just in one battle(Cannae). This chronic manpower shortage was one reason why Rome came to dominate and eventually destroy the Seleucids. Oh and nice coins! Here are a few maps that should show how difficult maintaining the Seleucid kingdom really was! After Antiochus I died it really went to hell in a hand basket.
Your coins have very nice details, Nicholasz. Seleucid bronzes circulated heavily, and most were left to be ravaged by the arid Levantine clime. As much as I love them all, I've collected less than a dozen over the last few years, because I can't find them in collectible grades at the right price. This coin of Alexander Balas arrived yesterday, ending a dearth of several months of Seleucids. The reverse is particularly good - every detail is there, down to the last letter. That's highly uncommon for these types...
Magnus Maximus, thank you very much! I am still learning how their empire ebbed and flowed. Now that I am getting a feeling for identifying the coins (at least most of the way anyway; I'm not collecting very fancy stuff), it is much more fun to learn and look for more.
@John Anthony: I see that you have picked up a fine example of AIB for yourself! That is remarkable that both legends on either side of Apollo are legible. It seems that in my coins they really came off at least on one side. That is why I was not sure how accurate my attributions are, but overall I think I did okay considering I was working with partials at best.
Thanks everyone for an interesting and informative thread!!! You have all seen my Antiochus examples numerous times by now....so I'll pass on another post. Cool coin guys!!!
