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| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 165 | Auction date: 26 May 2026 |
| Lot number: 407 Price realized: 17,000 CHF (Approx. 21,549 USD / 18,588 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Agathocles, circa 185 – 170 Commemorative issue struck for Diodotus. Tetradrachm, Merv circa 185-170, AR 32 mm, 15.98 g. ΔΙΟΔΟΤOY ? ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ Diademed head of Diodotos I r. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΟΝΤΟΣ ? ΑΓΑΘΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ Zeus advancing l., hurling thunderbolt and with aegis draped on extended r. arm, beneath which wreath; in r. field, monogram and at his feet, eagle l. In exergue, ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ. MIG 144a. Bopearachchi série 14A. HGC 12, 85. Rare and in superb condition for the issue. A portrait of masterly style struck in high relief on a large flan. Extremely fine Ex Gorny & Mosch sale 280, 2021, 442. From the K.G. Rheinland collection. In a large and complex series of coins rife with kings who are unknown outside of a numismatic context, it is surprising that the first coin bearing the name Diodotus – a king so well represented in the literature – came to light only after Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek coinage had been seriously studied for about a century. As recounted in Holt's Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria, the Diodotid coin was a gold stater with the now-familiar advancing Zeus reverse. It had turned up in Paris in 1838, or slightly earlier, via an Armenian who had acquired it at the fair of Nizhny Novgorod for a collector in St. Petersburg. After reaching Paris, the coin was sold to the Royal Cabinet of Paris by M. Rollin for the sum of £120. A few years more passed before Diodotus portrait tetradrachms from the pedigree series of Agathocles and Antimachus were discovered. They were eagerly studied for the insight they could provide on the relative chronologies of these shadowy kings, oftentimes dashing theories that had been proposed on royal relations. It is of great interest that the earliest king honoured by Agathocles is Alexander III of Macedon (as the son of Philip II), whose familiar Heracles head/seated Zeus design is employed. Next in the series is an issue in the name of the Seleucid King Antiochus II (as conqueror), though clearly with a portrait of Diodotus, which suggests it was meant to recall the earliest Diodotid issues, which bore the name of Antiochus. That type is accompanied by tetradrachms that are identical except for the use of the name Diodotus (one time as saviour, another as a god) in place of Antiochus. Other Greco-Bactrian kings honored by Agathocles include Euthydemus I (as a god), Demetrius I (as invincible), and Pantaleon (as saviour). Missing from his list is Euthydemus II, who may have been excluded for reasons that are not apparent, or who may have been honoured without any example of that coinage having yet surfaced. The pedigree series of Agathocles' successor Antimachus includes issues for Diodotus (as saviour) and Euthydemus I (as a god). Estimate: 10000 CHF |  |
