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<p>[QUOTE="Only a Poor Old Man, post: 5450667, member: 111037"]New coin arrived this morning, and it is a departure form what I have been focusing on for the past few months. I have been collecting mostly Byzantine coins and I kinda neglected my other area of interested, the Greek ones. So it felt good to hold in my hands a heavy piece of Greek silver after a while. And what a nice piece it is. It is a tetradrachm from the Seleukid king Antiochos VII commonly known as 'Euergetes' (benefactor). It is a beautifully toned coin with an excellent portrait in high relief. On the reverse, the eagle is very well rendered with good detail, legible legends and a plethora of mint marks that will make researching this coin a fun process.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1237244[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I always wanted a Hellenistic eagle coin. But for some unknown reason I was never that attracted to the Ptolemaic ones which are the most common ones. It is a matter of taste I guess, same as why i would prefer to go on a date with a freckled red-hair rather than the Angelina Jolie type. So when I saw this coin, it clicked and I had to have it, especially considering that the price was right. Once again, it was a retail purchase. If this coin was in an auction it would attract the kind of attention that drives the price is up. The seller's photo was on the bright side, so the attractive toning was a pleasant surprise. It must have been in someone's cabinet for a while, so I will try to investigate if it has an interesting provenance.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Hellenistic era is a period of history that fascinates me, and in my opinion its art is at least equal to the one of classical Greece. Furthermore, I have a tetradrachm from this guy's father (Demetrios I Soter), so it was only fitting that I should get one from his son. And a very successful son he was, as he is regarded as the last great king of the Seleukids. After him, the empire would be confined to mostly what is today's Syria, and it would often be nothing more than a Roman puppet state.</p><p><br /></p><p>His first nickname was Sidetes (as he came from Side - not very imaginative, I know). During his reign though he would add some more to his roster, ranging from 'pious' all the way to 'Euergetes' the one mostly associated with him. He ended up on the throne when his brother Demetrios II Nikator was captured by the Parthians. That was obviously not enough as he got married to his brother's wife as well. Why look for a new wife when there is one available that is only slightly used, he might have said...</p><p><br /></p><p>He was a fine king though! In his nine-year reign he managed to recapture much of the empire's lost territories and he squashed rebellions and internal feuds. Of great historical interest is his interactions with the Jewish people. Seleukids attacking Jerusalem was nothing new, but Antiochos earned his benefactor nickname from the Jews, as during a siege he willingly halted all hostilities for 7 days to allow the Jewish people to celebrate a religious festival. This impressed the Jewish nobility, so when Antiochos eventually took control of Jerusalem it was straightforward for him to maintain order and install a puppet ruler John Hyrcanus. Relations were so good that Jewish allied forces helped Antiochos in his later campaign against Parthia's troublesome ruler Mithridates.</p><p><br /></p><p>This connection is actually important to this new coin of mine. It was minted right about when Hyrcanus was installed in power, and hoard evidence shows that these tets would be widely used in the temple and would be the predecessor to the well known Tyrian shekels. Antiochos did well against the Parthians initially, and even Mithridates was killed in battle. His successor Phraates II was a bit of a cheeky one though, and he released Demetrios from prison who was immediately off to Syria to reclaim the throne from his brother. Maybe the wife too. Rebellions followed, and on his way to squash one Antiochos was ambushed by Phraates and killed. Parthians claimed he committed suicide, others that he was killed in battle. Nothing is certain.</p><p><br /></p><p>Show me your Antiochos coinage or any others from his family or the kingdoms he was associated with.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Only a Poor Old Man, post: 5450667, member: 111037"]New coin arrived this morning, and it is a departure form what I have been focusing on for the past few months. I have been collecting mostly Byzantine coins and I kinda neglected my other area of interested, the Greek ones. So it felt good to hold in my hands a heavy piece of Greek silver after a while. And what a nice piece it is. It is a tetradrachm from the Seleukid king Antiochos VII commonly known as 'Euergetes' (benefactor). It is a beautifully toned coin with an excellent portrait in high relief. On the reverse, the eagle is very well rendered with good detail, legible legends and a plethora of mint marks that will make researching this coin a fun process. [ATTACH=full]1237244[/ATTACH] I always wanted a Hellenistic eagle coin. But for some unknown reason I was never that attracted to the Ptolemaic ones which are the most common ones. It is a matter of taste I guess, same as why i would prefer to go on a date with a freckled red-hair rather than the Angelina Jolie type. So when I saw this coin, it clicked and I had to have it, especially considering that the price was right. Once again, it was a retail purchase. If this coin was in an auction it would attract the kind of attention that drives the price is up. The seller's photo was on the bright side, so the attractive toning was a pleasant surprise. It must have been in someone's cabinet for a while, so I will try to investigate if it has an interesting provenance. The Hellenistic era is a period of history that fascinates me, and in my opinion its art is at least equal to the one of classical Greece. Furthermore, I have a tetradrachm from this guy's father (Demetrios I Soter), so it was only fitting that I should get one from his son. And a very successful son he was, as he is regarded as the last great king of the Seleukids. After him, the empire would be confined to mostly what is today's Syria, and it would often be nothing more than a Roman puppet state. His first nickname was Sidetes (as he came from Side - not very imaginative, I know). During his reign though he would add some more to his roster, ranging from 'pious' all the way to 'Euergetes' the one mostly associated with him. He ended up on the throne when his brother Demetrios II Nikator was captured by the Parthians. That was obviously not enough as he got married to his brother's wife as well. Why look for a new wife when there is one available that is only slightly used, he might have said... He was a fine king though! In his nine-year reign he managed to recapture much of the empire's lost territories and he squashed rebellions and internal feuds. Of great historical interest is his interactions with the Jewish people. Seleukids attacking Jerusalem was nothing new, but Antiochos earned his benefactor nickname from the Jews, as during a siege he willingly halted all hostilities for 7 days to allow the Jewish people to celebrate a religious festival. This impressed the Jewish nobility, so when Antiochos eventually took control of Jerusalem it was straightforward for him to maintain order and install a puppet ruler John Hyrcanus. Relations were so good that Jewish allied forces helped Antiochos in his later campaign against Parthia's troublesome ruler Mithridates. This connection is actually important to this new coin of mine. It was minted right about when Hyrcanus was installed in power, and hoard evidence shows that these tets would be widely used in the temple and would be the predecessor to the well known Tyrian shekels. Antiochos did well against the Parthians initially, and even Mithridates was killed in battle. His successor Phraates II was a bit of a cheeky one though, and he released Demetrios from prison who was immediately off to Syria to reclaim the throne from his brother. Maybe the wife too. Rebellions followed, and on his way to squash one Antiochos was ambushed by Phraates and killed. Parthians claimed he committed suicide, others that he was killed in battle. Nothing is certain. Show me your Antiochos coinage or any others from his family or the kingdoms he was associated with.[/QUOTE]
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