| Savoca Numismatik GmbH & Co. KG > Herakles Auction 2 | Auction date: 3 March 2025 |
| Lot number: 45 Price realized: 4,200 EUR (Approx. 4,368 USD) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Greek Seleukid Kingdom. Damascus. Antiochos XII Dionysos 87-83 BC. SE 229 = 84/3 BC Tetradrachm AR 27 mm, 15,84 g Diademed head of Antiochos XII to right / BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ANTIOXOY / EΠIΦANOYΣ / ΦΙΛΟΠΑΤΟΡΟΣ / KAΛΛINIKOY/ ΘKΣ, facing cult image of god Hadad (husband of Atargatis), wearing long dress and cape, standing on double, decorated base, flanked by two reclining bulls; Hadad has both his hands outstretched, holding long ear of corn in his l. hand; in outer l. field, two monograms; whole in a laurel wreath. Beautiful old cabinet tone. Bold portrait. Extremely Fine SC 2472.7. Cf. Ex Auction Spink & Son, London 110 (1995), lot 47. Ex Auction Classical Numismatic Group, Inc., Lancaster XXVII (2002), lot 44. This extremely rare type is not recorded for the year 229 SE (Seleukid Era)! In his study of the series, Arthur Houghton documented seven examples of this type, all struck during the years 226, 227, and 228 SE. Notably, no coins of this type had been recorded for year 229 SE until CNGs publications in the early 2000s. An intriguing detail is the progression of Antiochos XII's portraiture over these years: coins from years 226 and 227 depict him clean-shaven, while those of 228 show him with a slight beard. This coin, dated year 229 SE, portrays him with a full beard, suggesting a marked evolution in his depiction over time. This type has been suggested to rank among the rarest in the entire Seleukid coinage series, with fewer than ten examples of the 'Hadad' type known to exist. Among these, only two-including the present specimen-are silver coins bearing Antiochos XII's epithet 'Dionysos,' which otherwise appears exclusively on his bronze coinage. By the reign of Antiochos XII, the Seleukid Kingdom had been reduced to a shadow of its former power, controlling little beyond Antioch and a few cities in Syria. Antiochos XII ruled a southern separatist domain centered on Damascus and was the last Seleukid ruler of significant military reputation. His campaign to curb the rising dominance of the Nabataeans ended in tragedy when he was killed in battle, resulting in the loss of Damascus and signaling the collapse of meaningful Seleukid authority in the region. The coin's reverse depicts Hadad, the Semitic storm god deeply rooted in Assyrian and Babylonian religious traditions. Hadad's continued prominence in Syria is evident from his depiction on coins well into the 3rd century AD, with some examples as late as AD 208-209. To the Greeks, Hadad was equated with Zeus, and to the Romans, with Jupiter Dolichenus. Organized worship of Hadad persisted into the late Roman period and likely survived in isolated communities for much longer, underscoring the resilience of his cult. This remarkable coin not only represents a numismatic rarity but also provides invaluable insight into the political, cultural, and religious dynamics of the late Seleukid period. Starting price: 2500 EUR |  |
