| Classical Numismatic Group > Triton XXVII | Auction date: 9 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 330 Price realized: 10,000 USD (Approx. 9,159 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: SELEUKID EMPIRE. Molon. Usurper, 222-220 BC. Æ (21mm, 8.01 g, 12h). Seleukeia on the Tigris mint. Struck circa 221-220 BC. Head of Zeus right, wearing laurel wreath / [B]AΣIΛEΩΣ MOLΩNOΣ, Apollo Kitharodeos, draped, standing right, holding plektron in lowered right hand and cradling kithara in left arm; monogram to outer right. SC 949.2; ESM 227; HGC 9, 430; Babelon, Rois 457. Dark brown patina, light deposits. VF. Extremely rare, one in SCO (in the BN), and no coins of Molon (of any issue) in CoinArchives. Molon was a Seleukid noble who was elevated to satrap of Media by Antiochos III, shortly after his acclamation as king. After Antiochos departed Babylonia to receive his crown in Antioch, Molon and his brother, Alexander, who was satrap of Persis, revolted. Molon defeated two armies sent against him, and entered Seleukeia on the Tigris in 221 BC, at which time the present issue was struck. Eventually, Antiochos, who has been campaigning against the Ptolemies, was forced to turn his attention to the revolt. Molon was compelled to move his army east, towards Media, as Antiochos approached from the west, but the Seleukid king was able to confront and defeat Molon's forces near Apollonia (Sittake). Although Molon and his brother survived the confrontation, they committed suicide upon realizing the futility of their position. Coins of Molon are among the rarest of the Seleukid series. Not only are there no issues of his present in CoinArchives, the last sales record we were able to find was an example of the present issue that appeared as lot 191 in Sternberg XVIII in 1986. Estimate: 1500 USD |  |
