| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 149 | Auction date: 2 December 2024 |
| Lot number: 177 Price realized: 11,000 CHF (Approx. 12,390 USD / 11,835 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Antiochus V Eupator, 164 – 162 Tetradrachm, Ptolemaïs (Ake) circa 164-162, AR 27 mm, 14.10 g. Diademed head of Antiochus V r.; behind, ΛB monogram. Fillet border. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY EVΠATOPOΣ Eagle standing l. on winged thunderbolt; in l. field, palm branch and in exergue, HP monogram. SNG Spaer –. Brett 1 (fourrée). SC 1583b. Extremely rare, less then five specimen known of this issue struck using a Phoenician standard. A coin of great importance and by far the finest known. Minor scratches, otherwise very fine This tetradrachm marks an important turning point for Seleucid coinage in the Phoenicia after Antiochus III detached the region from the Ptolemaic kingdom in 201-195 BC. Previous Seleucid kings did not act to integrate to the closed regional economy of Phoenicia, which was accustomed to Ptolemaic coinage featuring an eagle on the reverse and struck to a weight standard of c. 14.00g (three grams lighter than a Seleucid Attic-weight tetradrachm). Antiochus V also made no effort to integrate Phoenicia into the wider economy of the Seleucid kingdom, but instead worked to support the continuation of the regional closed economy by producing the very first Seleucid version of a Ptolemaic tetradrachm. The coin is not only struck to the light Ptolemaic standard but follows the same basic iconography of the Ptolemaic model: A royal portrait appears on the obverse. While an eagle standing on a thunderbolt is depicted on the reverse. In subsequent reigns this typology spread from Ake-Ptolemais to the other cities of Phoenicia and ultimately provided the formula for Phoenician civic coins, like the famous shekels of Tyre, that continued to be produced long after the last Seleucid king was deposed, and the kingdom transformed into a Roman province. Estimate: 10000 CHF |  |
