Coins of The Seleucid Empire From The Collection of Arthur Houghton. (Pt. I) / by Arthur Houghton
Coins of The Seleucid Empire From The Collection of Arthur Houghton. (Pt. I) / by Arthur Houghton
Coins of The Seleucid Empire From The Collection of Arthur Houghton. (Pt. I) / by Arthur Houghton
39015013527562
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike / http://www.hathitrust.org/access_use#cc-by-nc-sa-4.0
ARTHUR HOUGHTON
By
ARTHUR J^OUGHTON
PUBLISHED BY
No. 4
FOR SHERRY
EDWARD T. NEWELL
spurred my own
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ix
Syria Seleucis
"Apamea" 415-443
Cyrrhus 449
Cilicia
Tarsus 450-502
Mopsus 503-504
Mallus 505-512
Soli 513-529
WESTERN REGION
Sardes 592-611
Smyrna 621-622
Phocaea 623-624
Myrina 628-629
Aegae 630-632
Pergamum 633-635
Hellespont
Ilium 647-650
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Lampsacus 651-655
Parium 656-658
Lysimachia 659-662
Phoenicia
"Aradus-Marathus" 682-686
Simyra 687
Tripolis 688-693
Byblus 694-703
Beirut 704-710
Sidon 711-725
Tyre 726-770
Palestine
Ake-Ptolemais 771^814
Ascalon 815-826
Gaza 827-830
Jerusalem 831-834
Coele-Syria
Damascus 835-871
EASTERN REGION
Mesopotamia
Carrhae 887-890
Edessa 891-894
Nisibis 895-911
Babylonia
Babylon 912-913
Susiana
Susa 1021-1083
Baluchistan
Media
Ecbatana 1120-1275
Northeastern Mints
Bactra 1280-1299
INTRODUCTION
does not follow the system generally employed by many catalogues in which coins of the
hellenistic series are listed first by ruler, then by mint. Instead, it has been arranged ac-
cording to mints, then chronologically according to ruler, in order to show clearly the
affinity of coins struck by different rulers at the same city and to provide, as far as possible,
an overview of a given mint's activity and its relationship to other mints operating within
A second departure from general practice has been made in the geographical arrangement
of the mints themselves. In his formative study of early Seleucid coinages struck in the
east, Eastern Seleucid Mints, Edward T. Newell began with the first issues of Seleucus I,
struck in Babylonia, then dealt with mints further to the east, ending with Bactria. West-
ern Seleucid Mints continued with Mesopotamia, covered Syria Seleucis, Phoenicia,
Palestine and Cilicia, and concluded with Asia Minor. While the use of a historically-
based system of this nature was fully reasonable in tracing the development of the earliest
coinages of the Seleucid kings, it is not easily adapted to a catalogue of coins whose scope
embraces the entire historical range of the Seleucid dynasty, from its beginnings under
The approach in this volume emphasizes instead the development of the Empire as a
whole, taking as its starting point the area of most fundamental importance to the Seleucid
kings. Within this area, which is here called the North Central Region, the mint of Antioch
was predominant. As a major settlement since its founding and as the Empire's most
important city during the second and into the first century B.C., Antioch issued the largest
volume of coinage, and maintained the longest and most continuous record of mint oper-
ation. Its effect on the activity of other mints in its own and in more distant regions was
profound, often influencing style, iconography, form of inscriptions and striking technique.
The catalogue therefore begins with Antioch and its region, which includes the areas
of Cilicia and of Seleucis and Pieria. This is followed by the mints of the Western Region
(the western provinces of Asia Minor and the Hellespont); the South Central Region
(Phoenicia, Palestine and Coele Syria); and, finally, those of the Eastern Region (Mesopo-
tamia eastward, to Bactria). Each regional chapter concludes with a section covering
issues whose specific attribution has not been established firmly, but whose provenance,
style, iconography or technique relate them in a general manner to other known coins of
that area.
In recent years excavation reports, new hoard publications, specific mint studies, and
articles discussing the attribution of individual coins have all contributed to a growing
body of literature on the subject of hellenistic numismatics in general and Seleucid coinages
in particular; the material is voluminous. Many references to such studies have been in-
corporated in this catalogue but all have not, and while those cited are in the aggregate a
INTRODUCTION
guide to the field they are not intended to form a comprehensive bibliography. Instead an
attempt has been made to provide sufficient references to permit the user to locate similar
or related coins in other works, or to follow the attributions or reattributions that have
In citing such material, I have used the criterion of accessibility. Standard, broadly
available works, such as E. T. Newell's Eastern Seleucid Mints and Western Seleucid Mints
have been given priority; such studies also include Newell's "The Seleucid Mint of Antioch"
for coins of Antioch struck after the reign of Antiochus III; and Georges Le Rider's monu-
mental Suse sous les Sileucides et les Parthes for the later Seleucid issues of Susa, Seleucia
on the Tigris and Ecbatana. They also include significant articles in journals or essay
collections which bring together material relating to a particular mint or period. Where
such references do not adequately cover specific coins, the catalogues of the great national
collections in London and Paris have been cited, sometimes together. Thereafter, I have
referred to other major published collections, both public and private (Copenhagen, Ox-
ford, Cambridge and Boston; Lockett, Jameson, de Hirsch and De Clercq). Occasionally
it has been noted where a related issue or die may be found in a sales catalogue, if no other
work can provide the information. In exceptional cases where a coin may appear to be
unique or a series insufficiently known, unpublished examples have been cited in order to
Coins will be found throughout the catalogue without reference at all; such cases include
issues where similar examples by type, inscription, monogram or date could not be located
in published collections. Many of these fall into well-established sequences and are of
importance primarily in helping to complete the record of a mint's activity. Others, how-
ever, may be heretofore unrecorded issues; they are testament to the fact that the record
of Seleucid coinages is far from complete, and that additions to the known material
appear from time to time. It is my hope that the publication of such coins in this catalogue
will deepen our understanding of Hellenistic numismatics, and give greater definition to
I have a profound debt to the many individuals who have assisted me in the preparation
of this volume. I am deeply grateful to Leslie Elam, Director of the American Numismatic
Society, for his guidance and care in regard to both the editing and publication of this
catalogue; and to the Society's Curator of Greek Coins, Nancy Waggoner, for her thought-
ful commentary on the substance of this catalogue and for her patience with my impositions
on her time and my intrusions into the Society's Greek Coin Room over a period of many
years. Special thanks are also due to the Society's Librarian, Frank Campbell, who has
provided me with a stream of reference material which could not be conveniently obtained
elsewhere.
I am indebted, also, to Martin Price and Helene Nicolet-Pierre, Curators of the London
and Paris collections, for the time they have generously given in commenting on many
aspects of Seleucid numismatics, and for casts and photographs of coins which have helped
clarify questions regarding numerous issues in this catalogue. I also wish to thank Harald
the Staatliche Museum, Berlin; and J. L. Djukov of the Hermitage Museum, Leningrad,
INTRODUCTION
xi
study of particular Seleucid mints, and which have been of direct relevance to the proper
My thanks also go to Arnold Spaer of Jerusalem; Paolo Girardi of Beirut and Rome;
and Edoardo Levante of Iskenderun and Paris, for their help in resolving questions of
attribution of issues from Palestine, Syria and Phoenicia, and Cilicia. Specific and
useful commentary on Seleucid coins of Ascalon and Jerusalem has been provided by
Ya'akov Meshorer of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Frank Holt of the University of
Virginia and William Spengler, now at the University of Wisconsin (Madison), have re-
viewed the chapter on Bactria, and have made helpful suggestions on the history and
In the last analysis, this catalogue would not have been possible without the help
of Otto Morkholm of the Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Copenhagen, and
Silvia Hurter of Bank Leu, Zurich. For nearly two decades Mr. Morkholm has provided
unstinting assistance and advice as my interest in Seleucid history and numismatics has
developed. Much of this work bears his imprint. The general arrangement of mints, for
example, was originally his suggestion, and has been adopted in ful1. The attribution of
many coins has been based on his definitive studies in the field of hellenistic numismatics,
and I have depended heavily on his suggestions for improvement of the catalogue text.
The responsibility for any mistakes is mine alone, but such substantive errors as may exist
The core of this volume is the quality of its photography. Much of the basis of numis-
matic scholarship is visual; and while errors of substance can be corrected, information lost
by inadequate illustrations can be regained only with the greatest difficulty, if at al1. I
have been fortunate in the extreme that Silvia Hurter agreed to apply her unmatched skill
to the photography of the coins in this catalogue. Simple thanks are inadequate for a task
which involved long hours of labor and care. It is my hope that she will see, as I do, the
a wit, and a man of gentle charm who never forebore to expIain the past to a youth who
hardly knew what questions to ask. Henri Seyrig seemed to keep his door forever open in
response to my quest for information on the coinages of Syria, which were a source of
fascination to him as wel1. Both encouraged my early interest in ancient coins, and guided
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Babelon
Bellinger, Dura
Seleucids
Bellinger, Troy
BMC
Boehringer, Chronologie
Brett, Ake-Ptolemais
Brett, Ascalon
Cox, Tarsus
De Clerq
De Hirsch
ESM
HLR
Houghton, Lampsacus
(Paris, 1890).
pp. 51-102.
RN 1967, pp. 7-53 (Nos. 1-259); RN 1968, pp. 7-40 (Nos. 260-
3531).
1978).
ABBREVIATIONS
xiii
Houghton, Persepolis
Hunter 3
Jameson
LSM
Meklepini
McLean 3
MFA
Merkholm, Accession
Merkholm, Cilicia
Merkholm, Nisibe
Merkholm, Posthumous
Issue
Merkholm, Sardes
Merkholm, Studies
Merkholm, Susiana
Seyrig, fires
gow, 1905).
pp. 44-50.
(Copenhagen, 1963).
xiv
ABBREVIATIONS
Seyrig, Magnisie
Seyrig, Notes
Seyrig, Parion
Seyrig, Tresors
SMA
SNGCopSyria
SNGFitz
SNGLockell
Spaer, Qazvin
Spaer, A ke
Spaer, Ascalon
Strauss
Suse
Thompson, Lysimachus
Tyre
Waage
WSM
(Copenhagen, 1959).
don, 1971).
A. Spaer, "A Hoard from the Qazvin Area," Coin Hoards 1 (1975),
pp. 36^1.
139-41.
reprinted 1977).
CHRONOLOGICAL CHART
OF SELECTED MINTS
No dates have been given to the separate reigns of the kings whose coinage is re-
presented. Had the Seleucid state remained united, it would have been possible to show a
straightforward chronological sequence of rulers at their capital city. It did not, however,
and the chronology of the Empirethe later Empire in particularis anything but
straightforward.
In some cases, usurpers assumed control of one or more cities and were themselves
defeated and replaced by a legitimate ruler. In others, a king may have been expelled
from one city but maintained his authority at another. Some rulers exercised power over
vast territory but never ruled at the Seleucid capital, Antioch. As a result, a simple list of
Seleucid kings tends to be misleading about the breadth of an individual ruler's authority;
and an arrangement of kings at a single selected city, such as Antioch, would give only a
fragmentary picture about the extent of each ruler's contro1. Neither approach would
reflect the increasing political complexity of the Seleucid state in its later stages, threatened
pattern of disruption and disintegration as rival challengers fought each other for authority.
The following chart is intended to correct this problem in part. It sets out schematically
the reigns of Seleucid rulers at selected provincial capitals, from Sardes in western Asia
Minor to Bactra in the far northeast. In the case of each capital the record of coins struck
by the city's mint is, with only a few exceptions, sufficiently continuous to provide certain-
ty about the sequence of rulers at these locations. Its chronological accuracy is only
approximate, however, particularly in those instances where the ancient sources are im-
precise or silent, or where the numismatic material is lacking. The notes which follow the
Brett, Ake-Ptolemais
Cox, Tarsus
ESM
LSM
Merkholm, Sardes
Morkholm, Studies
Susc
E. Will, Histoire politique du monde hellinistique, 2 vols. Annales de l'est (Nancy, 1966-67).
WSM
Chart Notes:
I A foundation date of Seleucia of c. 301 B.C. or later has been proposed by R. Hadley, "The Foun-
The date of Seleucus's occupation of Bactra is not known. The first Seleucid coins of Bactra do
not appear to have been struck prior to the period of joint rule of Seleucus and his son, Antiochus I,
3 WSM, pp. 211-13, accepts a Seleucid occupation of Damascus extending from the reign of Antio-
chus I to the early years of Seleucus II, but notes the scant evidence supporting the rule of any Seleucid
4 The dates of Antiochus, son of Seleucus IV, follow the chronology of Morkholm, Accession.
5 The dates of Antiochus V and Timarchus at Seleucia are according to A. R. Bellinger, "The Bronze
Coins of Timarchus," ANSMN 1 (1945), pp. 37-44, and A. Houghton, "Timarchus as King in Babylo-
The chronology of Tryphon's reign in Syria is not certain. The traditionally accepted dating of
Tryphon's regnal years, which is supported by Brett, Ake-Ptolemais, and H. Seyrig, Notes, has been
retained.
7 A coin of Antiochus IX of Ascalon dated 91P (199 S.E. = 114/3 B.C.) in the British Museum
indicates a slightly earlier beginning of this king's reign in Palestine and Coele-Syria than Newell
8 The chart includes four hypothetical regnal periods for Antiochus VIII at Damascus, three for
Antiochus IX, based upon Bellinger, End of the Seleucids, pp. 68-74; 87-88, and a late issue of Antiochus
VIII published by Merkholm, "Some Western Seleucid Coins," INJ 3 (1965-66), p. 12. No dated
silver coins of Antiochus IX are known for this city after 111/0 B.C., however, and Bellinger's sug-
gestion of a third reign for this king at Damascus is based upon bronze issues of Eros/Nike type whose
Newell has placed the beginning of Antiochus VIII's fourth reign at Antioch at 108/7 B.C. (SMA,
p. 103). On the basis of hoard evidence, Seyrig, Trisors, p. 102, has noted that Antiochus's initiation
of the Zeus Nikephoros reverse type at Antiochand by implication the date of Antiochus's fourth
accession at that cityprobably did not occur until c. 105 B.C. or later. However, H. Troxell and
N. Waggoner, "The Robert F. Kelley Bequest," ANSMN 23 (1978), pp. 40-41, cite two tetradrachms
which suggest that Antiochus may have begun striking the Zeus Nikephoros coinage concurrently with
the Zeus Ouranios type during his third reign, or that the latter may have been continued into the
king's fourth reign until they were replaced by the Zeus Nikephoros series. The evidence is insufficient
to provide a definitive resolution of the chronology of this period, and Newell's dates have been
provisionally retained.
10 Both Antiochus XI and Philip I occupied Cilicia during their struggle with Antiochus X Eusebes.
They presumably occupied Tarsus during this period, whether jointly or in succession is not known.
The two reigns of Antiochus X at Antioch are discussed by Bellinger, End of the Seleucids, pp. 73-74;
see also the introductory notes to the sections on Antiochus X and XI at Antioch.
II See Bellinger, End of the Seleucids, pp. 82-85, and the introductory note to the section on An-
tiochus XIII at Antioch for the interrupted reign of this king and the brief assumption of power by
Philip II.
From the date of its founding in 300 B.C. until its annexation by Pompey almost two
and a half centuries later, Antioch grew to become the single most important city of the
Seleucid Empire. The coinage of Antioch reflects the developing focal nature of the city
itself: from early beginnings of significant if not voluminous output, when the attention
of the early Seleucid kings remained predominantly fixed on the rich and densely populated
territories of Asia Minor, to its zenith as the Empire's capital under Antiochus IV (175-164
B.C.). With the exception of the Ptolemaic occupation of the city in 246-244 B.C., the
record of Antioch's coinage as a Seleucid mint is virtually continuous until the capture of
the city by Tigranes in the first century. The last known Seleucid issues of the city were
struck during the brief first reign of Antiochus XIII in 69/8-67/6 B.C.
SELEUCUS I
dotted border.
anchor.
2. JE / 9.36. As 1.
dotted border.
Rev. BA ZE Tripod.
7. * j 2.14. As 6.
dotted border.
Tetradrachm.
dotted border.
925.
type.
Hemiobo1.
Obv. As 13.
der.
ANTIOCHUS I
Tetradrachm.
dotted border.
dotted border.
border.
dotted border.
border.
Obv. As 16.
954.
Syria Seleucis
964.
to r., 0.
ANTIOCHUS II
dotted border.
M.
Tetradrachms.
WSM 980|3-e.
980P-n.
SELEUCUS II
dotted border.
Staters.
Obv. As 40.
tripod; to 1., Y.
Tetra drachm.
Staters.
monograms.
SNGCopSyria 109.
Obv. As 40.
Obv. As 40.
Stater.
ted anchor.
dotted border.
pod.
WSM 1017.
as 52.
SELEUCUS III
dotted border.
Tetradrachms.
Triors 1.84.
Gold Octodrachm.
Tetradrachms.
of WSM 10308.
border.
to 1., cac .
1033.
dotted border.
to 1., 1.
Syria Seleucis
Obv. As 64.
to 1., above A .
Gold Octodrachm.
monograms.
Obv. As 66.
monogram is rendered X ).
Obv. As 64.
to L, .
Tetradrachm.
Drachm.
of WSM 1090b.
Obv. As 64.
Gold Octodrachm.
Tetradrachm.
of WSM 1098.
Obv. As 66.
by mahout; to L, tripod;
monograms indistinguishable.
Obv. As 66.
bow.
stylistic grounds.
Obv. As 66.
Rev. BAZIAEQZANTIOXOY
phant walking 1.
Ele-
Obv. As 64.
Tetradrachms.
edge.
Obv. As 84.
der.
32, 25.
border.
border.
phant's head 1.
505-7.
flan, TT(?).
Gold Octodrachm.
33.
Tetradrachms.
65, 2).
65, 6).
Drachm.
CH 7, 97).
Tetradrachm.
p. 66, 8).
ANTIOCHUS IV
Syria Seleucis
Obv. As 97.
Drachms.
CH 7, 97).
Hemidrachm.
103. JE / 4.03.
Obv. As 97.
Tetradrachms.
12).
fillet border.
ETTIOANOYZ NIKHOOPOY
Type as 99.
Tetradrachms.
given as 16.46).
Obv. As 97.
Tetradrachms.
p. 29, 22).
fillet border.
Tetradrachms.
guishable undertype.
serrated edge.
rated edge.
standing r. on thunderbolt.
Rev. As 117.
Rev. As 121.
Obv. As 123.
124. f 6.09.
Obv. As 123.
126. JE f 5.19.
Obv. As 121.
Babelon 628-30.
169/8 B.C.).
indistinguishable monogram.
ANTIOCHUS V
Syria Seleucis
CH 7, 97).
L (probably A).
nogram is clearly A .
"Syria"; CH 7, 97).
DEMETRIUS I
wreath border.
cornucopiae; to 1., Fl .
Tetradrachms.
fully clothed.
by another mint.
Obv. As 145.
B.C.).
155/4 B.C.).
10
Tetradrachm.
Obv. As 155.
Drachm.
Obv. As 145.
Tetradrachm.
Obv. As 155.
Drachms.
126.
Obv. As 145.
Gold Octodrachm.
below.
dotted border.
Gold Distater.
grams.
Obv. As 155.
Syria Seleucis
11
Obv. As 169.
Syria 243.
der.
phant's head r.
ALEXANDER I BALAS
9E0TTATOPOZ EYEPTETOY
150/9 B.C.).
Drachm.
Tetradrachms.
Obv. As 173.
Obv. As 174.
Tetradrachms.
Ifl.
12
in inner 1. field, ^.
on bow.
Hemidrachm.
able.
tentative.
Obv. As 193.
above A.
gram as tt).
Obv. As 193.
Prow of galley 1.
border.
club.
border.
A ?) above aphlaston.
Syria Seleucis
13
in exergue, A. SNGCopSyria
155).
dotted border.
on bow; to r., .
Syria 262.
266.
legs, A.
OCHUS IV
scepter.
Tetradrachms.
sue, p. 26.
exergue, 9.
Drachms.
14
dotted border.
which, ZI.
216. JE f 8.90.
border.
Tetradrachms.
SMA 209.
grams.
legs, A; in exergue, H EP
Drachm.
Obv. As 216.
222. JE f 6.00.
Obv. As 221.
Drachms.
W W (or W).
dotted border.
Obv. As 215.
in exergue, ^ Pi.
JE / 6.60.
Obv. As 225.
on shield.
Syria Seleucis
15
ANTIOCHUS VI
wheat ears.
Tetradrachm.
ZTA.
Drachm.
Obv. As 232.
= 143/2 B.C.).
Tetradrachms.
Obv. As 233.
Drachms.
Obv. As 233.
bow.
Hemidrachm.
Obv. As 233.
A (?).
Hemidrachm.
monogram.
Obv. As 233.
cornucopiae.
Obv. As 233.
16
Obv. As 233.
Obv. As 233.
(249-50).
Obv. As 233.
above A (?).
monograms.
Obv. As 233.
1037-39.
TRYPHON
fillet border.
TOKPATOPOZ Macedonian
(255-57).
Tetradrachms.
254. JR f 15.71.
of pi. I, 15).
Drachm.
p. 22, 17.
Syria Seleucis
17
Cilician mint.
border.
139/8 B.C.).
1064.
ted border.
dress.
any, indistinguishable.
Babelon 1095.
p. 75, 68.
= 134/3 B.C.).
border.
curi caps.
1168.
18
dotted border.
p. 18,194.
dotted border.
129/8 B.C.).
293. JE f 2.18.
bolt.
ALEXANDER II ZABINAS
A (298).
Tetra drachms.
329.
298. JR / 16.59.
B.C.).
border.
Sykia Seleucis
19
Obv. As 296.
or Z (304).
Drachms.
Obv. As 296.
Tetradrachm.
Obv. As 299.
with fillet.
Drachm.
CopSgria 368.
bols or monograms.
Obv. As 299.
Kf above A.
Hemidrachm.
Obv. As 296.
Tetradrachm.
branch.
20
CHUS VIII
throne, A.
Tetra drachm.
phora.
same date.
1355-56.
concurrently at Antioch.
wreath border.
Tetradrachm.
shoulder.
Syria Seleucis
21
wreath border.
Tetradrachms.
thunderbolt.
1. field, B (?).
Obv. As 329.
Tetradrachm.
above A; to r., A.
Tetradrachm.
Drachm.
Obv. As 337.
A (338) or T (339).
Hemidrachms.
Drachms.
22
der.
Tetradrachms.
beneath throne, .
beneath throne, 4. .
to 1., k above A.
Drachm.
Obv. As 349.
flan.
Tetradrachms.
1976,189.
27.
(TT?).
Drachm.
with 1.
Syria Seleucis
23
SELEUCUS VI
or N (364) or T T (365).
Tetradrachms.
422.
Drachm.
similar type.
Obv. As 366.
gram.
Hemidrachm.
without horn.
beneath throne, A.
above A.
beard.
throne, l~P.
Tetradrachms.
197.
Drachm.
Obv. As 375.
24
REIGNS
ZEBOYZ QIAOTTATOPOZ
Tetradrachms.
beneath throne, A.
above A.
Drachms.
Obv. As 383.
Babelon 1532.
ANTIOCHUS XI
part of a year.
Syria Seleucis
25
Tetradrachm.
distinguishable monogram;
dotted border.
391. J E f 2.33.
OIAOTTATOPOZ ZQTHPOY
Tetradrachm.
SMA 435.
PHILIP I PHILADELPHUS
fillet border.
OANOYZ OIAAAEAOOY
Tetradrachms.
beneath throne, A.
N; beneath throne, A.
indistinguishable.
tioch.
26
ANTIOCHUS XIII
Philip II.
border.
Tetradrachms.
Shortly after its founding by Seleucus I in 300 B.C., the mint at Seleucia Pieria began
operations with the issuance of both silver and bronze coinage, the former of the same type
and using dies cut by the same hand as those of Alexander-type tetradrachms struck under
Antigonus at Antigonea.1 The mint appears to have closed shortly after the accession of
Antiochus I, possibly because the need for the production of coinage at Seleucia had been
obviated by the growing capacity of the mint at Antioch. No mint activity is recorded at
About 246 B.C. Ptolemy III seized the city, which remained under Egyptian control until
its recapture by Antiochus III in 219 B.C. Antiochus IV struck municipal bronze coinage at
Seleucia and possibly some tetradrachms (404). Special status appears to have been con-
ferred on the city by Alexander I Balas, under whom a wide variety of coinage was struck,
including two monumental tetradrachm issues (407 and 409), local coinage both with
and without the king's portrait, and a bronze "federal" coinage (a series inscribed
AAEAOQN AHMQN), apparently meant for circulation in both Seleucia and Antioch.
The activity of Seleucia's mint seems to have been only sporadic thereafter. Demetrius
II may have struck issues at the city during his first reign (411), and coinage is recorded
for Antiochus VII, Demetrius IPs second reign, Alexander II Zabinas, possibly Antiochus
8 Antiochus VII: G. Macdonald, "Seltene und unedierte Seleukidenmunzen," ZfN 1912, p. 99,27, a
bronze issue dated AOP (174 S.E. = 139/8 B.C.), see Seyrig, Notes, p. 13, n. 21; Antiochus VIII:
Syria Seleucis
27
SELEUCUS I
Tetradrachm.
ted border.
bolt; below, M .
Obv. As 402.
border.
Lebanon.
ANTIOCHUS IV
border.
1. M; in exergue, IA ; laurel
wreath border.
Tetradrachm.
CH 7, 97).
der.
der.
1on 647.
ALEXANDER I BALAS
fillet border.
9E0TTATOPOZ EYEPTETOY
scepter.
Tetradrachm.
28
Thunderbolt; above EP
Tetradrachm.
coin).
der.
410. JE f 4.91.
OY (DIAAAEAOOY NIKA-
1. on omphalos, holding
Tetradrachm.
above type.
DEMETRIUS II
SECOND REIGN
OY NIKATOPOZ Thunder-
border.
Hemidrachm.
ALEXANDER II ZABINAS
dotted border.
ETTIOANOYZ NIKHOOPOY
border.
catalogued as ETTIOANOYZ
Syria Seleucis
29
hellenistic mint. The city may have struck a single royal bronze issue of Seleucus (WSM
1128), and possibly some later silver coinage.1 Under Antiochus IV and Alexander I
Balas, Apamea issued local coinage bearing the king's portrait.2 No later Seleucid coins
Pending a study which would clarify the activity of the mint of Apamea in the third
century and satisfactorily establish the attribution of issues given by Newell to this city,
the coins of Seleucus I Antiochus III in this section have been catalogued in accordance
with WSM.
SELEUCUS I
border.
below, anchor.
ANTIOCHUS I
dotted border.
ANTIOCHUS II
Tetradrachms.
of WSM 1135-36.
"INTERREGNUM"
Tetradrachms.
Obv. As 419.
1 See O. Morkholm, "A Summary of Recent Scholarship: Additions and Corrections," WSM 2nd Ed.
(1977), p. vi, for a review of published material reattributing certain coins assigned by Newell to
Apamea. Houghton, Tarik Darreh, pp. 3841, suggests the reattribution to Antioch of coinage of
Seleucus II and Antiochus III with the monogram e% Other issues given by Newell to this mint, per-
haps including those of Antiochus I and II, may also have been struck at another city.
2 O. Morkholm has also attributed to Apamea bronze coinage struck by Alexander with the portrait
8 Under Tigranes II, Apamea struck dated autonomous bronze coinage between 76/5 and 68/7 B.C.,
but this right appears to have been withdrawn by Antiochus XIII. The city was taken by Pompey in
30
SELEUCUS II
Staters.
7 (this coin).
8 (this coin).
tripod.
Tetradrachms.
WSM 1153CC-6.
dotted border.
1., fr.
Obv. As 427.
1166.
gasus flying 1.
Syria Sei.eucis
31
ANTIOCHUS IV
sibly N<).
grams.
ALEXANDER I BALAS
1on 913.
rectangle.
From its founding by Seleucus I at the beginning of the third century B.C. through the
reign of Antiochus III, Laodicea appears to have confined its mint activity to the issuance
of royal silver, which ceased with Antiochus's death. The city later struck municipal
bronze coinage under Antiochus IV and Alexander Balas. A brief tetradrachm issue may
have been struck at Laodicea (or Seleucia Pieria) during the first reign of Demetrius II in
Syria;1 no later Seleucid coinage has been attributed to this city, which was granted
SELEUCUS I
Tetradrachm.
ANTIOCHUS III
Obv.
^; in exergue, indistinguish-
Tetradrachm.
32
ANTIOCHUS IV
Obv.
in 1.
Syria 218-19.
ALEXANDER IBALAS
of feet, dolphin.
In the Seleucid era, Hierapolis struck rare silver coinage under Seleucus I,1 evidently
ceasing to function thereafter until it was reopened by Antiochus IV and, later, Alexander I
ANTIOCHUS IV
wreath in outstretched r.
r.,S.
monograms.
1 Seyrig cites only one example: H. Seyrig. "Monnaies helldnistiques XIX: Le monnayage de Hiera-
ClLICIA
33
During the Seleucid period, Cyrrhus's coinage was limited to the striking of municipal
types with the king's portrait under Alexander I Ralas, only in the year 164 S.E. (149/8
R.C.).
ALEXANDER IBALAS
monograms.
CILICIA: TARSUS
Active under the satraps of Persia as well as Alexander and his immediate successors,
the mint of Tarsus continued to produce gold and silver coinage for Seleucus I following his
capture of Cilicia from Demetrius Poliorcetes in c. 294 B.C.1 Thereafter, Tarsus appears to
have operated continuously as a Seleucid mint through the reign of Demetrius I, with the
exception of a brief period of occupation by Ptolemaic forces between c. 246 and 243 B .C.2
The great rarity of Tarsid coin issues from the reign of Alexander I Balas (No. 475), the
first reign of Demetrius II* and that of Antiochus VI,4 suggests that the mint's activity
was limited and discontinuous in the troubled period between the death of Demetrius I
and the accession of Antiochus VII. A resurgence of production occurred under the latter
king, however, which was maintained through the final reign in Cilicia of Antiochus IX.
The last known Seleucid issue of Tarsus was struck by Seleucus VI.6
1 As Newell noted in discussing the attribution of issues such as No. 450, the assignment to Tarsus
of early Seleucid coinages poses particular difficulty. One is on increasingly firm ground with the issues
of Antiochus I and later (but see comment following 604 regarding the problem of attributing coins of
Seleucus II to either Tarsus or Sardes). For the pre-Seleucid coinage of Tarsus, see E. T. Newell,
"Tarsus under Alexander," AJN 52 (1918), pp. 83-84; E. T. Newell, The Coinages of Demetrius Polior-
8 WSM, pp. 222-23. Cox, Tarsus, p. 45, suggests that this mint closed during the war between
Antiochus III and Rome, but the prolific coinage now known to have been struck by Antiochus at
Antiochus VI of Tarsus, said to be from the Kirikhan hoard (CH 1 [1975], 87; CH 2 [1976], 90),
6 G. Le Rider, "Monnaies grecques recemment acquises par le Cabinet de Paris," RN 1969, p. 15, 8,
the only coin known to have been struck at this mint by Seleucus, whose Cilician base appears to have
34
SELEUCUS I
border.
Tetradrachm.
ANTIOCHUS I
Tetradrachm.
border.
border.
different monograms.
guishable.
ANTIOCHUS II
chus r.
der.
Tetradrachm.
Corinthian helmet r.
Stater.
nograms.
Obv. As 454.
no border.
Tetradrachms.
1310(3.
ClLICIA
35
SELEUCUS III
A; to r., W.
Tetradrachm.
ANTIOCHUS III
pp. 263-64.
r.
Tetradrachms.
1252.
Drachm.
SELEUCUS IV
dotted border.
Tetradrachm.
ANTIOCHUS IV
Tetradrachms.
36
DEMETRIUS I
Tetra drachms.
ALEXANDER I BALAS
9EOTTATOPOZ EYEPTETOY
monogram.
Drachm.
(= F. Imhoof-Blumer, Monnaies
in exergue, AI.
ANTIOCHUS VII
holding wreath.
Drachms.
K above NE.
monogram fully.
border.
ClLlCIA
37
ALEXANDER II ZABINAS
Drachms.
ANTIOCHUS VIII
ruler.
winged lion.
Tetradrachms.
Reign.
Obv. As 488.
Drachms.
ANTIOCHUS IX
border.
OTTATOPOZ Monument or
38
Antiochus, beardless.
above TT.
Drachm.
above NK.
1484-86.
502. JE f 2.31.
CILICIA: MOPSUS
bronze issues with the portrait of Antiochus IV,1 and tetradrachms during the first reign of
Demetrius II and under Antiochus IX.2 No other Seleucid coinage is known to have been
ANTIOCHUS IV
(y and 8).
Cll.ICIA
39
Tetradrachm.
604. JR f 16.56.
CILICIA: MALLUS
Judging from its very few recorded issues, and despite the significance of its dependent
sanctuary Magarsus, the center of the cult of Athena Magarsia, Mallus's importance as a
Seleucid mint must have been limited. No Seleucid coins of this city are known to have
been struck before the reign of Demetrius I, nor after that of Antiochus IX.1
Studies Mildenberg.
DEMETRIUS I
B" (?).
Tetradrachm.
OIAAAEAOOY NIKATOPOZ
Tetradrachm.
ANTIOCHUS VII
Rev. BAZIAEQZANTIOXOYEYEP-
Tetradrachm.
1 A. Houghton, "The Seleucid Mint of Mallos and the Cult Figure of Athena Magarsia," Studies
in Honor of Leo Mildenberg: Numismatics, Art History and Archaeology (Wetteren, 1984, forth-
coming).
40
border.
shoulder.
Tetradrachm.
Drachms.
monogram is indistinguishable.
Houghton 21.
ANTIOCHUS VIII
lower 1., ^ .
Tetradrachm.
ANTIOCHUS IX
fillet border.
tinguishable monogram.
Tetradrachm.
Houghton 26.
CILICIA: SOLI
The mint of Soli, which had been active during the Persian era, appears to have reopened
during the reign of Antiochus III. The city struck tetradrachms and drachms under An-
tiochus and Seleucus IV, and limited tetradrachm issues under Antiochus IV and Deme-
trius I. The monograms which appear on Soli's coinage at this time are in many cases
similar to those on contemporaneous issues of Tarsus, suggesting that both mints may have
shared the same magistrates.1 Under later Seleucid rulers Soli produced coinage irregularly.
the administrative relationship between Tarsus and Soli during this period.
8 G. Le Rider, "Monnaies grecques recemment acquises par le Cabinet de Paris," RN 1969, p. 13, 7,
a tetradrachm with the reverse type of a seated Athena, and with the symbol owl and monograms NA .
A corresponding drachm of Soli struck under Antiochus VII with the reverse type of a seated Tyche
and with similar monograms in the exergue is in the British Museum, not in BMC.
ClLICIA
41
ANTIOCHUS III
chus r.
A ; to r., # .
Tetradrachm.
1282p.
Drachm.
Tetradrachms.
174.
Drachms.
SELEUCUS IV
III).
Drachms.
Drachms.
r., ON.
42
Obv.
Tetradrachms.
Rev.
BAZIAEQZ AHMHTPIOY
above O.
Athena or Athena.
The ambiguity of the evidence supporting an attribution of the following group of coins
to either Seleucia ad Calycadnum or to Elaeusa (Sebaste) has been pointed out by Bellinger,
Elaeusa Sebaste, pp. 27-30. Bellinger favored the latter mint in view of the fact that
certain monograms appear both on tetradrachms of Seleucus VI of this series, and on two
by the British Museum," NC 1959, pp. 44-45, has more recently supported Bellinger's
preferred Seleucia on the basis of the leaf symbolinvariably the same five-lobed leaf
carried on these coins. Imhoof-Blumer's view has been supported by P. Naster, "Les mon-
naies seleucides attributes a l'atelier d'Elaeusa Sebaste," RBN 1980, pp. 13-16, and 0.
Morkholm, "Two Seleucid Coin Notes," NC 1957, pp. 9-10, with whose judgement the
author concurs.
The earliest issue which bears the five-lobed leaf symbol and which can with assurance
Hague.1 Judging from the relatively few known examples of royal coinage which were is-
sued subsequently, the production of the mint appears to have been highly sporadic
through the second century B.C., suggesting that it had no more than a peripheral role
during this period. A surge of activity evidently occurred under Seleucus VI, however,
when the mint issued coins struck from an unusually rich variety of obverse dies and
(End of the Seleucids, p. 73, n. 64), to finance Seleucus's campaign against Antiochus IX
which culminated in his capture of Antioch in 95 B.C. No later Seleucid coinage of this
mint is known.
1 Newell assigned WSM 1330-31, tetradrachms of Seleucus III and Antiochus III, to Seleucia
ad Calycadnum on the basis of their symbol, the forepart of a horse. Such coins may well have been
ClLICIA
43
ANTIOCHUS VII
Tetradrachm.
nations.
Tetradrachm.
reign).
ANTIOCHUS VIII
leaf.
Tetradrachms.
SELEUCUS VI
fillet border.
leaf.
Tetradrachms.
p. 28, 6.
AN.
44
has been questioned by Merkholm, Cilicia, pp. 19-21, who has concluded that they should
ever, differs stylistically in important respects from this series (see 459-75, above). Never-
theless, the appearance of the monograms CE , Pi, and NK on coins of both this group and on
Tarsid issues of Antiochus II, Seleucus II and III, and Antiochus III (e.g., WSM 1308; 461
and 463-64, above) suggests that even if both series were not struck at the same mint, they
Cilician city.
SELEUCUS II
Tetradrachms.
this coin).
("Sardes").
ANTIOCHUS III
chus r.
CE ; to r., PJ.
Tetradrachm.
rax").
SELEUCUS I
border.
Tetradrachms.
1 The sharing of magisterial responsibilities at different cities also appears to have occurred at the
mints of Tarsus and Soli between the reigns of Antiochus III and Demetrius I (see the introduction to
Soli).
Uncertain North
45
Iraq.
SELEUCUS II
r.
tripod.
northern Syria.
similar monograms.
SELEUCUS III
dotted border.
1.
Tetradrachm.
to be as unequivocal as Newell
46
ANTIOCHUS III or IV
border.
southern Turkey.
border.
elbow on shield.
DEMETRIUS I
copiae.
Tetradrachms.
at a Cilician mint.
Mesopotamian mint.
at Antioch.
Uncertain North
47
ALEXANDER I BALAS
der r.
Tetradrachms.
dotted border.
der.
Alexander r.
date.
throne, H* in exergue.
diadem.
48
Drachms.
567. JR f 4.04.
Obv. As 567.
570. JE j 4.76.
from Istanbui.
Obv. As 567.
able.
indistinguishable.
Obv. As 567.
574. JE f 3.48.
of Demeter).
Uncertain Norrra
49
580. JE / 8.28.
ALEXANDER II ZABINAS
Tetradrachms.
p. 12, 28.
30.342.
30.348.
CHUS VIII
ANTIOCHUS VIII
50
PHILADELPHUS
border.
Tetradrachm.
PHILIP PHILADELPHUS
OANOYZ OIAAAEAOOY
wreath border.
Tetradrachms.
SMA 455.
beneath throne, A.
fillet border.
WESTERN REGlON
One of the major cities of Asia Minor with a long history of settlement, Sardes had
operated a flourishing mint under Alexander and his immediate successors through the
greater part of Lysimachus's reign.1 The mint was evidently closed during the occupation
of the city by Demetrius Poliorcetes in 297 R.C., but was reopened after the arrival of
Under the first Seleucid rulers, Sardes became a major stronghold of the Empire in the
west, its mint producing a prolific number of royal silver and some bronze issues through
the reign of Antiochus Hierax.' The city was taken by Attalus I in 226 B.C.; from that date
until its recapture four years later by Achaeus, acting for Antiochus III, Sardes's mint struck
tetradrachms of Alexandrine (Heracles head) obverses but bearing local types or symbols
on their reverses.3 In c. 221 B.C. Achaeus revolted, holding Sardes until he was overthrown
and executed by Antiochus in 215 B.C. The Seleucid era at Sardes ended with the defeat of
SELEUCUS I
Obv.
lion's
Rev.
Head of Heracles in
der.
Tetradrachms.
1354.
1356.
592.
593. A f
ANTIOCHUS I
Tetradrachm.
Seleucus I r.
in exergue, I .
Tetradrachm.
1 For a review of the coinage of Sardes under Alexander, Philip III and Antigonus, see M. Thompson
and A. Bellinger, "Greek Coins in the Yale Collection, IV: A Hoard of Alexander Drachms," Yale
Classical Studies 14 (1955), pp. 3-45; for the Sardian issues of Lysimachus, M. Thompson, Lysimachus,
pp. 172-73.
* WSM, pp. 242-71, revised for the reign of Antiochus Hierax and later by Morkholm, Sardes, pp.
5-20. Some drachm issues of Seleucus II attributed by Newell to Sardes have been reattributed herein
52
ANTIOCHUS II
I r.
exergue, fit.
Tetradrachm.
t. WSM 1394.
r. field monogram.
in exergue.
Obv. As 598.
anchor.
tripod.
Tetradrachms.
53
ACHAEUS
dotted border.
tor., AI.
Tetradrachm.
eus.
r.
Tetradrachm.
The prolific coinage in both gold and silver initiated at Magnesia by Lysimachus was
not continued after the fall of the city to Seleucus I in 282 B.C., to whom only a single issue,
in bronze, has been attributed (WSM 1469). The striking of royal silver was resumed late
in the reign of Antiochus I, apparently ending during the early years of Antiochus Hierax.1
proposed sequence.
ANTIOCHUS II
holding bow.
Tetradrachm.
JR / 16.97. Rev. to 1.
Drachms.
612.
613.
M. NFA 5, 23
Naville 10, 25
Seyrig, p. 31, 2
Tetradrachm.
p. 31, 7.
54
SELEUCUS II
tripod.
Drachms.
p. 33).
ANTIOCHUS HIERAX
Hierax r.
M; to r., fi.
Drachm.
175.
Smyrna became a Seleucid possession along with other major towns of Asia Minor
following the Battle of Corupedium in 281 B.C. Although Lysimachus had opened a
mint at Smyrna,1 no Seleucid coins prior to the reign of Antiochus I have been attributed
to this city. Whether or not Smyrna struck coinage under Antiochus II is question-
able.2 No later Seleucid issues have been identified with this mint.
* WSM 1497, a stater with a standing Athena reverse, should be assigned to Myrina on the basis
of its relationship to 628 below, a stater of similar type which shares its symbol and monogram with
WSM 1525-27. The tetradrachm issue WSM 1498, given by Newell to Antiochus II, should be re-
assigned to Antiochus I because of its monogram $ and its clear relationship to 622, which shares
both < and /fc with WSM 1493-95. WSM 1499-1500, tetradrachms with an idealized portrait of
Antiochus II, have a general affinity to coins struck at various mints in western Asia Minor, but bear
little relationship to earlier Seleucid issues attributed more securely to Smyrna (the only particular
point in common, noted by Newell, is the palm branch bound with a fillet which appears on WSM
1499, which is the same as that carried by Athena on the stater WSM 1497herein assigned to Myrina).
55
ANTIOCHUS I
to r., < .
Tetradrachm.
in exergue, (= ?).
Stater.
monograms A and t .
The mint of Phocaea appears to have opened only after the accession of Antiochus I to
the Seleucid throne. A series of silver issues has been attributed to this king and to An-
tiochus II at Phocaea, and a single tetradrachm (WSM 1509) has been tentatively given
to Antiochus Hierax at this mint. No later Seleucid coinage is known for Phocaea.
ANTIOCHUS II
Tetradrachm.
II r.
exergue, seal 1.
Tetradrachm.
12.
56
Antiochus I to this city on the basis of their typological relationship to issues identified
with Phocaea, Cyme, Myrina and Aegae, taken together with their lack of stylistic affinity
to such issues.1 The case for such an attribution is not strong, but none better has been
made for WSM 1456-58. No other Seleucid coinage can be attributed to Magnesia.8
ANTIOCHUS I
.E H>.
Tetradrachm.
to 1., .E .
Known Seleucid coinage of Myrina is limited to two gold staters (628, below, and WSM
1497, "Smyrna") and three tetradrachm issues (WSM 1525-27) struck under Antiochus II.
ANTIOCHUS II
Obv.
I r.
+.
Stater.
629.
27.
to Myrina.
Tetradrachm.
2 The single issue of Seleucus II, WSM 1459, and the succeeding series of Antiochus Hierax, WSM
1460-67, which Newell tentatively assigned to Magnesia have been reattributed by Seyrig to Parium
(q.v.).
57
Like Myrina, Aegae appears to have struck Seleucid coinage only under Antiochus II.
The variety of issues now known to have been produced by this mint tends to sustain
Newell's judgement that Aegae did not fall to Pergamum until some time after 252 B.C.
(WSM p. 309).
ANTIOCHUS II
Obv.
630.
Tetradrachm.
n. 2 (this coin).
II r.
Stater.
Tetradrachm.
coinage under Seleucus I (633) after the Battle of Corupedium. Following Seleucus's
in the name of both Alexander and Seleucus (634), replacing these about five years later
with issues bearing Seleucus's portrait but Philetaerus's own name (635). In 262 B.C.
SELEUCUS I
below anchor.
Tetradrachm.
3 (this coin).
58
PHILETAERUS
skin r.
ova1.
Tetradrachm.
bow; in exergue, .
Tetradrachm.
(= MFA 1608).
The early mint history of Alexandria Troas parallels that of other cities in the Hellespont-
Troad area. The city struck extensively under Lysimachus,1 following whose death it issued
Alexandrine tetradrachms and civic bronze types through the reigns of the first Seleucid
kings.2 The earliest royal Seleucid coins of Alexandria did not appear until the reign
of Antiochus II.3
No coinage of Seleucus II is known for this mint; but Antiochus Hierax evidently chose
the city to be his primary administrative center, instituting a major series of coins whose
ANTIOCHUS II
der.
ing horse, r.
Tetradrachms.
reattributed to Lampsacus by
ANTIOCHUS HIERAX
Corinthian helmet r.
lower r., .K .
Stater.
1 Thompson, Lysimachus, pp. 176-77. Bellinger, Troy, p. 78, suggests that Alexandria may have
8 WSM 1561-66.
Hellespont
59
229/8 B.C.
winged diadem r.
(641-42, 644).
Tetradrachms.
nogram.
(this coin).
field, .K .
HELLESPONT: ILIUM
The mint at Ilium opened under Lysimachus with the issuance of municipal bronze
coinage, whose type was retained after Lysimachus's defeat at Corupedium and through
the reign of Antiochus I.1 The first identifiable silver coinage of Ilium was struck by
Antiochus II;2 royal silver issues were produced thereafter under Seleucus II and Antiochus
SELEUCUS II
dotted border.
Tetradrachm.
* WSM 1555, struck from an obverse die first used at Lampsacus: see Houghton, Lampsacus, p. 65
n. 3.
60
ANTIOCHUS HIERAX
Hierax r.,
Tetradrachms.
p. 18, T12.
coin).
HELLESPONT: LAMPSACUS
A major mint under Lysimachus, Lampsacus appears to have ceased production entirely
until the reign of Antiochus II, to whom but a single issue has been attributed.1 No
coinage from this city has been assigned to Seleucus II, and the mint may have undergone a
hiatus from Antiochus's death until c. 240-239 B.C., when Antiochus Hierax initiated a
series of tetradrachms second in importance only to his coinage at Alexandria Troas. The
Seleucid era at Lampsacus ended with the defeat of Hierax by Attalus I in 229/8 B.C.
ANTIOCHUS HIERAX
Hierax r.
Tetradrachms.
Hellespont
61
HELLESPONT: PARIUM
Along with other important cities of the Propontis, the mint of Parium opened toward
the end of Lysimachus's reign, issuing coinage in Lysimachus's name until the latter's
death, then Alexandrine tetradrachms.1 A coin of Seleucus II may be the first strictly
Seleucid issue attributable to this mint.2 The major tetradrachm series initiated by An-
tiochus Hierax ended with Hierax's defeat by the Pergamenes in 229/8 B.C.
ANTIOCHUS HIERAX
Hierax r.
Tetradrachms.
HELLESPONT: LYSIMACHIA
The first city to strike coinage under Lysimachus after its founding in 309/8 B.C.,
Lysimachia was never more than a minor mint under the Seleucids. Only coinage of An-
tiochus II and Antiochus Hierax appear to have been struck at this mint.3
ANTIOCHUS HIERAX
Tetradrachms.
of WSM 1617.
1616-18.
3 Despite the sharp features of the portrait, which suggest those of Antiochus III, C. Boehringer's
tentative reassignment of WSM 1615-21 to Antiochus Hierax (Chronologie, p. 161, 29) has been sup-
ported by other hoard evidence: E. Laroche, "Les fouilles de Meydandjik, pres de Guluar (Turquie)
62
SELEUCUS I
Corinthian helmet r.
grams.
Stater.
border.
Tetradrachm.
ANTIOCHUS I OR II
I r.
Tetradrachm.
Obv. As 665.
off flan, A I.
Tetradrachm.
border.
Uncertain West
63
SELEUCUS II
dotted border.
tripod.
Tetradrachms.
to r. of inscription. J. Schulman
Drachm.
alternative possibilities.
monogram.
monogram EY at Apamea.
ANTIOCHUS II OR ANTIOCHUS
HIERAX
dotted border.
HI.
Tetra drachm.
another example.
ANTIOCHUS HIERAX
I r.
64
ANTIOCHUS HIERAX?
dotted border.
Tetradrachms.
ANTIOCHUS III
Tetradrachms.
Greece.
Drachms.
681. JR f 3.99.
E. T. Newell's assignment of certain silver coins with Alexander's name and an inverted
anchor in the 1. field as non-Seleucid types struck in the area of Aradus (WSM, p. 192-
eastern hoards.1 Some may have been struck at one or more eastern mints, but the evidence
Pending a study which can clarify the problems surrounding these issues, the following
"ARADUS"
griffin r.
inverted anchor; to 1. of
Stater.
Tetradrachm.
p. 37,11.
1 See esp. Spaer, Qazvin, p. 37, 2-12 and 633, probably also from the Qazvin Hoard; G. K. Jenkins,
"The Coins," in D. Stronach, Pasargadae (Oxford, 1978), p. 188, 6. However, the Cavalla Hoard
contained a tetradrachm of the same type and lower monogram as 683 (M. Thompson, "The Cavalla
Hoard," ANSMN 26 [1981J, p. 35,12), and a tetradrachm of the same type and with the same mono-
grams as 684 appears to have come from Asia Minor: M. Kampmann, "Un trdsor d'Alexandres,"
RN 1972, p. 158, 84. The termini of the hoards cited provide no evidence for or against the view that
* The coinage of Aradus in the hellenistic period is discussed by O. Morkholm, "The Ptolemaic
'Coins of an Uncertain Era'," NNA 1975-6, pp. 23-58; also see H. Seyrig, "Antiquites syriennes, 49:
Aradus et sa peree sous les rois Seleucides," Syria 28 (1951), pp. 206-220.
(56
"MARATHUS"
Tetradrachm.
'UNCERTAIN MINT"
NON-SELEUCID ISSUE?
dotted border.
Drachm.
Obv.
SELEUCUS I
3; dotted border.
Hemidrachm.
PHOENICIA: SIMYRA
Simyra, one of several villages on the Syrian coast bound closely to Aradus, appears to
have been given the right to coin money along with the latter city after 259/8 B.C. The
few examples of coins identified as having been struck at Simyra indicate only the most
intermittent mint activity, however. The following exceptional cointhe only royal
Seleucid issue attributed to Simyraappears to have been struck when the town was being
used as a military staging area by Seleucus III in preparation for a campagn to seize
For a discussion of Simyra during this period, see H. Seyrig, "Monnaies hellenistiques:
SELEUCUS III
dotted border.
Tetradrachm.
1.101-2.
Phoenicia
67
PHOENICIA: TRIPOLIS
Tripolis struck coinage only intermittently under the Seleucid kings. Local bronze
issues bearing the ruler's portrait are known for Antiochus IV1 and for the second reign of
Demetrius II.2 Rare tetradrachms and drachms were struck by Antiochus VIII, and a
single tetradrachm issue is known for Antiochus IX, dated only in the year 105/4 B.C.8
At some point between 105/4 and 95 B.C., Antiochus IX granted autonomy to the city.4
ANTIOCHUS IV
loping r.
ANTIOCHUS VIII
(689-91) or A (692).
Tetradrachms.
689. A f 16.58.
Dies of 689.
Drachm.
ANTIOCHUS IX
border.
border.
Tetradrachm.
tetradrachms of Antiochus IX
same date.
1 In addition to coins of the type of 683, Tripolis struck an unusual issue bearing the portraits of
* J. P. Six, "L'ere de Tripolis," Annuaire de la Sociiti Francaise de Numismatique 1886, pp. 229-
234, has attributed to Tripolis coins with the reverse type of Tyche holding a tiller and cornucopiae.
This iconography was not limited to Tripolis, however, and several issues of Antioch bear the same
reverse type (Alexander II Zabinas: SMA, p. 89; Waage, p. 19, 200. "Antiochus V1I or VIII or later":
Waage, p. 22, 242. Antiochus VIII: SMA, p. 107, fig. 25; Hunter 3, pi. 69, 25. Antiochus IX: SMA
419; see also 356-58, above. Antiochus X: SMA 431; also, 383-84, above.
4 H. Seyrig, E.res, p. 109. However, Bellinger, Dura, p. 114, 110, has provisionally assigned to
Tripolis a bronze issue of Demetrius III with the reverse type of Tyche wearing a turreted headdress.
68
PHOENICIA: BYBLUS
the coinage of Byblus, whose mint opened with the production of municipal bronze issues
carrying Antiochus's portrait and the name or initials of the city. Similar coins were
been struck at Byblus.1 Tryphon issued coinage both in silver and bronze there,2 and at
least one issue of Antiochus VII is known for Byblus.3 No later Seleucid coinage has been
66.
ANTIOCHUS IV
/l^VV ("ofGebal
42, 651.
ANTIOXOY is on obverse.
Obv. As 694.
border.
697.
698.
JE f
JE f
3.51.
2.51.
De Clercq 81.
As 697.
699. JE f 1.28.
700. JE f 0.91.
ALEXANDER I BALAS
dotted border.
Phoenicia
69
TRYPHON
dotted border.
B.C.?).
Didrachm.
year 2.
CHUS VIII
headdress.
Hemidrachm.
below).
PHOENICIA: BEIRUT
The mint at Beirut, like that at Byblus, opened with the striking of municipal bronze
issues carrying the portrait of Antiochus IV. Alexander I Balas struck similar coinage at
Beirut, and also initiated a series of tetradrachms whose issuance was continued through
the first reign of Demetrius II.1 The last recorded Seleucid coin of Beirut is a bronze issue
of Alexander II Zabinas.2 The city was granted autonomous status by Tigranes in 81 B.C.8
pp. 263-312.
ANTIOCHUS IV
r.: //*J3 AX
1 Demetrius may also have struck a municipal bronze issue during his second reign, although this
2 Rouvier, JIAN 3, p. 269, 456. No other coinage is known to have been struck at a Phoenician
mint by Alexander Zabinas, although this king issued royal silver issues at Ascalon in Palestine (q.v.).
70
ALEXANDER I BALAS
Tetradrachms.
AAEEANAPOY
DEMETRIUS II
FIRST REIGN
Tetradrachm.
ferent dates.
border.
period.
PHOENICIA: SIDON
Sidon, whose mint had been active prior to and under Alexander the Great, as well
as during the third century when Ptolemaic forces had occupied the Phoenician coast,
produced no coinage under the Seleucids until the reign of Antiochus IV, when that city
issued municipal bronzes with the king's portrait.1 Local bronze issues were also struck by
Demetrius I, but under Alexander I Balas the mint initiated a significant series of silver
1 Bronze issues of Antiochus IV: J. Bouvier, Numismatique des villes de la Phenicie: Sidon" JIAN
5 (1902), pp. 121-23, 1206-15; see Hesperia Art FPL 40/41 (1967), 156 for what is described as a
Phoenicia
71
coins using both the Phoenician and Attic weight standards, a practice which was main-
tained through at least the first part of the reign of Antiochus VII.2
There is no recorded coinage of Sidon for the reign of Alexander Zabinas. The mint
resumed activity with the issuance of tetradrachms during the joint reign of Cleopatra
Thea and Antiochus VIII, and continued operations into the reign of Antiochus IX. The
last recorded Seleucid issue of Sidon, a tetradrachm of Antiochus IX, is dated 202 S.E.
(111/0 B.C.).3
ANTIOCHUS IV
border.
border.
dotted border.
ALEXANDER I BALAS
(714) border.
dotted border.
Tetradrachm.
9EOTTATOPOZ EYEPTETOY
Tetradrachms.
p. 125, 1233.
p. 124, 1232.
* Like Tyre and Ake-Ptolemais, Sidon employed both Phoenician and Attic weight systems in its
production of silver issues during its operations under the later Seleucid kings. Generally speaking
coins were struck in one standard only in a given year, sometimes in both standards in alternate years
(during the joint reign of Cleopatra Thea and Antiochus VIII, for example); more rarely, issues were
produced in both standards in the same year (under Alexander I Balas and Demetrius II in 165 S.E.
and 168 S.E., respectively). No consistent pattern emerges from Sidon's known coinage, although
the mint's bias was toward the Phoenician weight system throughout its history under the Seleucids.
3 Naville 10, 15 Jun. 1925, 1459; MuM 37, 5 Dec. 1968, 265.
72
18) border.
OY OIAAAEAQOY NIKA-
Tetradrachm.
521.
ted border.
Tetradrachms.
126, 1248.
ANTIOCHUS VII
Tetradrachm.
719. JR f 16.62.
Tetradrachm.
CHUS VIII
ANTIO-
Phoenicia
73
ANTIOCHUS VIII
Tetradrachms.
p. 131, 1274.
p. 131, 1277.
ANTIOCHUS IX
border.
wreath border.
Tetradrachm.
PHOENICIA: TYRE
The mint of Tyre, active under the Persian satraps as well as Alexander and his Ptolemaic
successors, appears to have opened as a Seleucid facility shortly after the Battle of Panion
of 200 B.C., when Phoenicia and other Egyptian-controlled territories in Palestine and
Coele Syria fell to Antiochus III. The bronze issues of local type with the king's portrait
which Antiochus initiated at this mint1 appear to have been produced without signi-
Seleucid silver was first struck at Tyre under Alexander I Balas and continued to be
produced, along with municipal bronze issues, until the murder of Demetrius II in 126/5
1 The first recorded Seleucid coin of Tyre, a bronze of Antiochus, is dated 115 S.E. (198/7 B.C.):
Tyre 4a.
* Tyre, like Sidon, generally struck silver coinage on the Phoenician weight standard, but Attic
weight tetradrachms were issued both during the first and second reigns of Demetrius II and under
Antiochus VII. Tyre began to issue the autonomous shekels of the Heracles-Melkart type immediately
74
ANTIOCHUS III
dolphin symboi.
dotted border.
SELEUCUS IV
dotted border.
731. JE f 6.87.
ANTIOCHUS IV
dotted border.
border.
date.
166/5 B.C.).
the Sidonians")
DEMETRIUS I
dotted border.
Phoenicia
75
ALEXANDER I BALAS
Tetradrachms.
Didrachm.
Tetradrachms.
Tyre 61.
Tetradrachms.
Tetradrachms.
QE . Tyre 84.
der.
to 1., as 751.
Tetradrachms.
Didrachm.
ANTIOCHUS VII
76
Didrachm.
Tyre 117.
Tetradrachm.
der.
760. JE f 7.60.
der.
wreath border.
Tetradrachms.
off flan.
Drachm.
monogram IY1 .
Palestine
77
PALESTINE: AKE-PTOLEMAIS
Following the Battle of Panion and the seizure of the city from Ptolemaic control by
Antiochus III in 200 B.C., Ake-Ptolemais remained the administrative seat of Phoenicia,
Palestine and Coele-Syria. No Seleucid coinage is recorded for Ake prior to the reign of
Seleucus IV, when a limited tetradrachm issue was struck.1 The mint appears to have
remained in continuous operation thereafter, except for the reign of Antiochus VII,8 until
at least 107/6 B.C., the date of its last recorded Seleucid coin.3 The Seleucid era at Ake
ended in 104/3 B.C. when the city was beseiged and captured by Alexander Jannaeus.
SELEUCUS IV
dotted border.
der.
Tetradrachm.
Tetradrachms.
exergue, fa, W.
"Syria"; CH 7, 97).
773.
1 Only Attic weight silver issues were struck at Ake by Seleucus IV, his son Antiochus and Antiochus
IV. Under Antiochus V, Ake issued tetradrachms using both Phoenician and Attic weight standards,
generally maintaining this dual coinage throughout its operation as a Seleucid mint, with exceptions
(Alexander I Balas, Antiochus VI and Tryphon are known to have struck only Phoenician weight
tetradrachms: Cleopatra Thea, only Attic weight issues during her single year reign).
2 Le Rider and Seyrig, De Clercq 198, have reassigned to Ascalon a silver series of the year 177
S.E. (136/5 B.C.) previously given to Ake by Seyrig (Notes, p. 10, No. 6 = Babelon 1104), leaving
78
ANTIOCHUS IV
ETTIOANOYZ NIKHOOPOY
border.
Tetradrachms.
p. 47, A3-P7.
"Syria"; CH 7, 97).
border.
palm branch.
Tetradrachms.
"Syria"; CH 7, 97).
(this coin).
monogram unrecorded.
37 "Syria"; CH 7, 97).
dotted border.
Palestine
79
ANTIOCHUS V
Tetradrachms.
(this coin).
ALEXANDER I BALAS
dotted border.
Tetradrachms.
= 150/9 B.C.).
ANTIOCHUS VI
standing 1. on thunderbolt,
border.
Tetradrachms.
AT
TRYPHON
dotted border.
Tetradrachm.
80
CLEOPATRA THEA
126/5 B.C.).
Tetradrachm.
monograms.
CHUS VIII
scepter; to 1., 2.
Tetradrachm.
= 125/4 B.C.).
Obv. As 804.
Tetradrachm.
bolt.
standing 1. on thunderbolt; to
Tetradrachm.
dotted border.
tinguishable.
810. JE f 2.26.
811. JE j 3.57.
Palestine
81
ANTIOCHUS IX
border.
Tetradrachm.
PALESTINE: ASCALON
Under Seleucid rule, Ascalon was no more than a minor mint until the second century
B.C. It had been gained by Antiochus III following the Battle of Panion in 200 B.C., but
issued no royal coinage until the reign of Antiochus IV, under whom bronze issues
showing the king's portrait and various symbols, including the city's badge, a dove, were
struck.1 Bronze coins were also issued at Ascalon by Alexander I Balas and Tryphon; the
latter king seems to have also struck the city's first royal silver. During the reign of
Antiochus VII, Ascalon produced bronze coins and, possibly, a rare tetradrachm issue.2
The city's mint seems to have entered a phase of increased activity during the second
reign of Demetrius II, striking silver more or less regularly thereafter until the city gained
ANTIOCHUS IV
ted border.
25-26.
1 Since the publication by Brett of the bronze coin of Antiochus IV with the reverse type of a
dove (see 815, above), two other bronzes with royal portraits have appeared:
Y. Meshorer, "The Beginning of Hasmonean Coinage," 1EJ 24 (1974), pp. 59-61, partly
on the basis of the monogram which had been read as a date, LK.
815, a and b form a set of multiples. The latter two coins differ from the first in the formation of
their flans, but the similarity of the portraits of all three and their use of identical inscriptions (BA =
BAZIAEQZ ANTIOXOY?) and monograms indicate that all were struck at the same mint,
I am grateful to Arnold Spaer for permission to publish his coin, and to Dr. Meshorer for reexamining
the bronze issue in the Israel Museum and communicating the new monogram information.
2 Babelon 1104: see comment following De Clercq 198. The attribution to Ascalon of the unique
3 Spaer, Ascalon, provides the most comprehensive study of the city's mint in the late hellenistic
period.
82
TRYPHON
dotted border.
provisionally retained.
ANTIOCHUS VII
dotted border.
laston.
ALEXANDER II ZABINAS
ted border.
Tetradrachm.
VIII
border.
standing 1. on thunderbolt,
U; dotted border.
Tetradrachm.
different dies.
standing 1. on thunderbolt,
Tetradrachms.
Palestine
83
Obv. As 822.
Tetradrachms.
PALESTINE
3 (1977).
(?); to 1, TAI.
indistinguishable monograms;
dotted border.
825. JR f
826. JR f
: GAZA
ANTIOCHUS VII
62-63.
border.
Rev. BAZIAEQZANTIOXOYTyche
if any, indistinguishable;
dotted border.
("Antiochus V").
ALEXANDER I BALAS
PALESTINE: JERUSALEM
coin).
coin).
Jerusalem appears to have been of little importance as a Seleucid mint. Bronze issues
of this city were struck under Antiochus VII in the years 180-83 S.E. (133/2-131/0 B.C.).
No other Seleucid coinage has been positively identified with Jerusalem, which fell to
the Hasmonaeans at the end of the second or beginning of the first century B.C.1
1 Reexamination of the unique bronze coin in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, cited by Y. Meshorer,
"The Beginning of Hasmonean Coinage," 1EJ 24 (1974), pp. 59-61, indicates that the letters LK on
the coin's reverse are not a date but are instead the elements of a monogram identical to that appearing
on bronze coinage of Antiochus IV struck at Ascalon, such as 815 (see the introduction to Ascalon,
above, n. 1). M. Narkiss, Coins of Palestine (in Hebrew), voi. 2 (Jerusalem, 1938), p. 127, 165, has
84
ANTIOCHUS VII
Rev. BAZIAEQZANTIOXOYEYEP-
visible date.
anchor.
= 131/0 B.C.).
COELE-SYRIA: DAMASCUS
Damascus does not appear to have been a community of major importance in the early
hellenistic period. Following the death of Alexander it was occupied by Ptolemaic forces,
then was seized by Antiochus I and may have remained Seleucid through part of the reign
of Seleucus II.1 Ptolemy III recaptured the city, however, after which it was returned to
There is no coinage which can be assigned to Damascus with certainty during this early
period;2 only with the reign of Antiochus VII do dated silver issues appear which can be
securely given to the Damascus mint. Thereafter, mint production appears to have
continued without significant interruption until the last decade of the second century B.C.,
when the strife between Antiochus VIII and Antiochus IX engulfed most of the cities which
were still part of the Seleucid realm. The last Seleucid king of Damascus, Antiochus XII,
the youngest son of Antiochus VIII, was killed in 84 B.C.; the city's protection, then its
ANTIOCHUS VII
wreath border.
Tetradrachms.
LSM 65.
1 WSM, p. 212.
8 Newell's tentative suggestion that Damascus may have struck a tetradrachm of Antiochus I,
WSM 1288, is only weakly supported by the coin's stylistic affinity to Alexandrine tetradrachm issues
3 Bellinger, End of the Seleucids, pp. 77-78. Bellinger accepts Newell's view that at some point
during this period Damascus briefly adopted the name Demetrias (see LSM, pp. 83-84 and n. 33)
but suggests that this occurred when the Nabataean ruler Aretas III was the city's protector and not
Coele-Syria
85
and scepter.
Tetradrachms.
71.
LSM 72(3.
Drachm.
- in exergue, QT\P
127/6 B.C.).
throne, n
(186 S.E.
Tetradrachm.
exergue, indistinguishable
date.
ALEXANDER II ZABINAS
to 1., H>.
Tetradrachms.
LSM 84y.
CHUS VIII
ANTIO-
86
wreath border.
Tetradrachms.
LSM 94/.
102y.
105a.
ANTIOCHUS IX
border.
Tetradrachms.
border.
Tetradrachm.
Coele-Syiua
87
LSM 126.
dotted border.
OY OIAOTTATOPOZ ZQTHPOY
dotted border.
862. JE f 6.89.
863. M \ 3.44.
ANTIOCHUS XII
border.
wreath border.
Tetradrachm.
border.
visible monogram.
der.
der.
Obv. As 865.
distinguishable monogram(s).
88
ANTIOCHUS IV
M; dotted border.
Israei.
dotted border.
OY OIAAAEAOOY N1KA-
TOPOZ Cornucopiae.
Drachms.
Lebanon.
Uncertain South
89
monograms.
ANTIOCHUS VII
der.
From Israei.
ANTIOCHUS VIII
(883) border.
unedierte Seleukidenmilnzen,"
Lebanon.
ANTIOCHUS IX
border.
OTTATOPOZ Cornucopiae.
Hemidrachm.
EASTERN REGlON
MESOPOTAMIA: CARRHAE
Carrhae, whose Macedonian garrison may have been established under Alexander the
Great, appears to have begun operation as a hellenistic mint under Antigonus, striking both
gold and silver issues in Alexander's name. The mint's production was continued by
Seleucus I following his assumption of control over northern Mesopotamia c. 302 B.C.;
Antiochus I may also have struck coins at Carrhae, although the evidence for this is
SELEUCUS I
Corinthian helmet r.
Staters.
(this coin).
767.
ANTIOCHUS I
border.
der.
MESOPOTAMIA: EDESSA
Edessa was founded by Seleucus I c. 302 B.C. No coinage of Seleucus has been identified
with this city, however, and only a few bronze issues of Antiochus I have been tentatively
attributed to its mint. Edessa was later renamed Antiochia on the Callirhoen, probably by
Antiochus IV, who permitted the city to strike municipal bronze issues with his own
1 The extreme break in iconography and style between the coinages of Seleucus I and Antiochus I
given by Newell to Carrhae, and the absence of monograms common to both series, suggest that they
may not have been struck at the same mint unless one assumes discontinuous production, for which
Mesopotamia
91
ANTIOCHUS I
border.
801.
ANTIOCHUS IV
L, SE.
605-8.
MESOPOTAMIA: N IS IB IS
The mint of Nisibis was apparently activated at the end of the reign of Antiochus II,
who may have struck only a single bronze issue at this city. It produced an extensive
coinage in silver for Seleucus II, Antiochus III and Seleucus IV. No royal coinage is known
for Nisibis during the reign of Antiochus IV when the city, renamed Antioch in Mygdonia,
issued only municipal bronze coins with the king's portrait. Demetrius I and, perhaps,
Alexander I Balas and Demetrius II, may also have struck tetradrachms at Nisibis. No
later Seleucid coinage of Nisibis has been identified, although the city may have remained
SELEUCUS II
dotted border.
dotted border.
border.
dotted border.
Tetradrachm.
tripod.
Obo1.
92
ANTIOCHUS III
3) border.
Stater.
Tetradrachms.
WSM 858.
in exergue, K .
Tetradrachm.
of WSM 868.
dotted border.
branch.
SELEUCUS IV
ted border.
Tetradrachms.
Nisibe, p. 46, 3.
CH 7, 97).
Nisibe, p. 47, 8.
ANTIOCHUS IV
border.
Babylonia
93
ALEXANDER IBALAS
at Nisibis.
BABYLONIA: BABYLON
type which had been inaugurated during Alexander's lifetime, as well as the silver lion
staters and fractions produced under Alexander's satrap Mazaeus but adorned with the
Seleucid anchor.1 The date of the mint's decommissioning is uncertain, but in any event
would have occurred before 275 B.C., when Antiochus decreed the removal of the city's
SELEUCUS I
dotted border.
Staters.
1 See ESM, pp. 104-6 regarding the variable weights of Seleucus's Babylonian lion staters, which
Newell suggests may have been intended for bulk use rather than individual coinage needs.
2 ESM, pp. 104-5. Newell suggests that Babylon may have stopped issuing lion coinage in the
280's (?), and in any case before the accession of Antiochus I in 280 B.C. N. Waggoner, "The Early
Alexander Coinage at Seleucia on the Tigris," ANSMX 15 (1969), p. 22, notes that Babylon's Alexan-
der-type coinage appears to have ceased c. 305 B.C. Based on the likely sequence of the coins of Seleu-
cus I at Susa, however, A. Houghton has proposed an opening date of the mint at Seleucia of c. 301 B.C.
(see section on Seleucia on the Tigris, n. 1), which poses the problem of explaining the four-year
gap in production of Attic weight coinage in Seleucid Babylonia during this period.
94
Founded by Seleucus I after 312 B.C.,1 Seleucia rapidly replaced Babylon as the admin-
istrative center of Babylonia, as well as the province's principal mint. Except for two
brief periods when the city was under the control of the usurpers Molon (221-220 B.C.)
and Timarchus (in Seleucia 161 B.C.), Seleucia struck coinage continuously and voluminous-
ly through the reigns of Seleucus's successors until c. 140 B.C., when the city was seized by
Mithradates I of Parthia.2 Seleucia was retaken for a short period by Antiochus VII
during his eastern campaign against the Parthians in 131/0-130/9 B.C., then was lost
SELEUCUS I
goner.
dotted border.
Tetradrachms.
ESM 29.
Obv. As 914.
above, BW.
Tetradrachm.
gram.
Obols.
ESM 58.
ESM 60.
1 Exactly when is not certain. However, R. Hadley's endorsement of Bouche-Leclerq's view that
the city was established c. 300 B.C., "The Foundation Date of Seleucia on the Tigris," Historia 27
(1978), pp. 228-30, is supported by this author, Persepolis, p. 9, n. 6, on the basis of the probable date
Babylonia
95
Obv. As 914.
Tetradrachm.
ESM 62.
Drachms.
ESM 80.
biga.
Hemidrachm.
O. SM 83.
Drachm.
dotted border.
928. JE f 3.31.
Obv. As 914.
O.
Tetradrachm.
101.
Drachm.
Tetradrachm.
below shield, O.
Obv. As 927.
dotted border.
beneath belly, O.
monograms.
Obv. As 914.
indistinguishable.
Obo1.
934. A \'0.64.
rinthian helmet r.
to lower r., BE or BE A.
Stater.
96
scepter.
beneath throne, A.
Waggoner's study.
Obv. As 935.
Stater.
Drachm.
toi., W.
Obv. As 936.
Tetradrachms.
ff.
guishable.
Obv. As 936.
neath throne, K.
Tetradrachm.
ANTIOCHUS I
dotted border.
indistinguishable.
ted border.
Tetradrachm.
Antiochus at Seleucia.
ANTIOCHUS I
Babylonia
97
dotted border.
ANTIOCHUS II
ted border.
Tetradrachms.
ESM 178.
ESM 181.
M.
field monogram.
field monogram.
Obv. As 955.
Tetradrachm.
Staters.
10 (this coin).
(this coin).
Tetradrachm.
dotted border.
ted border.
SELEUCUS II
rinthian helmet r.
98
border.
ted border.
dotted border.
Obv. As 966.
W.
SELEUCUS III
RT ; to r., ttf .
Tetradrachm.
MOLON
ted border.
indistinguishable monogram;
ANTIOCHUS III
border.
Gold Octodrachm.
dotted border.
distinguishable monogram; to
r., m.
Obv. As 972.
dotted border.
Tetradrachms.
Babylonia
99
ANTIOCHUS IV
Obv.
ted border.
Tetradrachms.
of similar style.
(this coin).
979.
980.
Obv.
Rev.
982. JE \
983. JE f
984. JE \
985. JE f
986. JE f
Obv.
distinguishable monograms;
dotted border.
16.02. As 982.
Obv. to 1.,
7.51.
M-O.
4.69. Obv. to 1.
2.46.
dotted border.
monogram.
head.
TIMARCHUS
100
Gold Octodrachm.
ALEXANDER I BALAS
(1004) border.
9EOTTATOPOZ EYEPTETOY
Tetradrachms.
(this coin).
Drachm.
Obv. As 1003.
Tetradrachm.
DEMETRIUS II
AAAEAOOY NIKATOPOZ
bow.
Tetradrachm.
coin).
SUSIANA
101
Tetradrachm.
(this coin).
border.
Tetradrachms.
coin).
with cornucopiae.
figures, Y.
between figures, I.
between figures, Y.
1019. JE f 5.54.
perhaps Nisibis.
ANTIOCHUS VII
E-F.
SUSIANA: SUSA
Shortly after the assertion of his claim to rule the empire of Alexander in the east, and
possibly in connection with his eastern campaigns, Seleucus I began issuing coins in his own
name at Susa, which he renamed Seleucia on the Eulaeus. Thereafter Susa struck continu-
ously as a Seleucid mint until the occupation of the city by the Elymaean ruler Kamnaski-
res I c. 147 B.C. Demetrius II regained Susa, issuing a brief coinage of tetradrachms c. 145
102
SELEUCUS I
this study.
border.
Tetradrachm.
Houghton, pi. 1, 4.
dotted border.
Tetradrachms.
pi. 1, 3.
ESM 426.
Drachm.
ESM 418.
Tetradrachm.
ESM 420.
Obv. As 1021.
border.
Tetradrachm.
dotted border.
Tetradrachm.
307.
SUSIANA
103
Tetradrachm.
1032. A / 16.94.
In ESM.
Obv. As 1027.
anchor; to r. of shield, ; to
r. of elephants, @ .
Tetradrachm.
Stater.
border.
dotted border.
shield, ; to r. of shield,
Tetradrachm.
ANTIOCHUS I
in ; dotted border.
Drachm.
104
rinthian heImet r.
and stylis.
Staters.
monograms.
ted border.
(?).
ANTIOCHUS I OR II
rinthian helmet r.
to lower r., SE .
Stater.
ANTIOCHUS II
rinthian helmet r.
Staters.
SELEUCUS II
r., .
Stater.
SELEUCUS II OR III
dotted border.
off flan.
ANTIOCHUS III
SUSIANA
105
der.
border.
and pi. 3.
bis instead.
Obv. As 1050.
ted border.
Tetradrachms.
ESM 396.
indistinguishable.
SELEUCUS IV
dotted border.
Tetradrachms.
106
ANTIOCHUS IV
Obv.
ted border.
Tetradrachms.
DEMETRIUS I
chus IV).
Tetradrachm.
1066.
1067.
1068.
1069.
Tetradrachms.
1071. AX.
62 (this coin).
SUSIANA
107
DEMETRIUS II
Tetradrachms.
The first coinage of Antioch on the Persian Gulf appears to have been struck by An-
tiochus IV, who is reported to have refounded the city after its destruction by floods.1
Thereafter the mint struck continuously until the early part of the reign of Demetrius II.
ANTIOCHUS IV
Tetradrachms.
coin).
coin).
P7 (this coin).
Hemidrachm.
Obols.
1090. A 1 0.71.
1091. A \ 0.79.
1 Pliny, HN 6.138-39; see O. Morkholm, Antiochus IV of Syria (Copenhagen, 1966), pp. 167-69.
108
DEMETRIUS I
bow.
Tetradrachms.
field monogram.
coin).
BALUCHISTAN:
Antiochus I.
ANTIOCHUS I?
ALEXANDER I BALAS
bow.
Tetradrachms.
Mint, p. 37.
rendered A .
Media
109
Drachms.
Persepolis 7.
Persepolis 8.
Persepolis 9.
sepolis 10.
Hemidrachms.
except as noted.
Obols.
Persepolis 17.
polis 25.
1119. At / 0.79.
MEDIA: ECBATANA
The mint of Ecbatana opened under Seleucus I late in the fourth century B.C., initially
striking gold and silver coinage in Alexander's name, then issues with the name of Seleucus
as king.1 With the exception of a two-year period when the usurper Timarchus held the city
as his capital (142-140 B.C.) Ecbatana remained under continuous Seleucid control, for the
most part maintaining a voluminous and often diverse coinage which ceased only when
SELEUCUS I
Tetradrachms.
ESM 457.
thian helmet r.
Stater.
1 Newell, ESM, p. 162, proposes a date of c. 311 B.C. for the opening of the mint. For whatever
reason, Seleucus's name was evidently not added to the coinage of Ecbatana until more than a decade
110
Obv. As 1120.
Tetradrachm.
Tetradrachm.
Didrachm.
(this coin).
Tetradrachms.
ESM 506.
Drachm.
presumed monogram.
Obo1.
on symboi.
at Ecbatana.
ANTIOCHUS I
der.
Drachm.
ESM 509.
Tetradrachms.
Media
111
ANTIOCHUS II
Stater.
541A.
Tetra drachm.
SELEUCUS II
dotted border.
Staters.
coin).
Stater.
border.
Drachms.
Obv. As 1144.
der.
112
ted border.
Hi . ESM 566.
Obv. As 1147.
tripod.
ESM 568.
Obv. As 1144.
Stater.
SELEUCUS III
to r., PJ.
Tetradrachm.
ANTIOCHUS III
Tetradrachms.
field monogram.
dotted border.
guishable.
Media
113
der.
phant walking r.
Tetradrachms.
(this coin).
Drachms.
Tetra drachm.
coin).
Drachms.
(this coin).
tiochus III.
114
A I. Suse, p. 327, B. 8.
ted border.
indistinguishable.
1206. JE \ 3.39.
ted border.
above M.
ANTIOCHUS IV
border.
Drachms.
B, 24.
inner 1. field, ^ .
Type as 1208.
Tetradrachms.
1208.
Drachms.
Media
115
M.
dotted border.
off flan.
ANTIOCHUS V
and bow.
Drachms.
city.
TIMARCHUS
and bow.
Drachm.
333, C.
palm branch.
14-15.
coin).
116
copiae.
Drachms.
ted border.
Stater.
coin).
bow.
Stater.
Drachm.
65.
Tetradrachms.
Drachms.
p. 336, C, 15.
C, 20.
Northeast
117
ALEXANDER I BALAS
9EOTTATOPOZ EYEPTETOY
bow.
Drachms.
1272.
1273.
JR i
JR i
Rev.
4.11.
4.06. As 1272.
walking r.
27-28.
dotted border.
Provenance, style, form of inscription and technique of manufacture point to the probabil-
ity that the following series of coins was struck in the area of northeast Iran. The evidence
NewelFs suggestion that their originating mint was in a provincial capital is reasonable.1
No coins which can be identified with this group are known to have been struck prior to the
ANTIOCHUS II
I r.
Tetradrachms.
same monograms.
Drachm.
in exergue, A .
by Antiochus I.
SELEUCUS II
118
NORTHEAST: BACTRA
The mint of Bactra opened early in the third century, initially striking coinage during
the joint reign of Seleucus I and his son Antiochus, but carrying only Seleucus's name.1
During the sole reign of Antiochus I and that of Antiochus II, gold staters and two very
brief bronze issues (ESM 716 and 716A; see 1287, below) were added to the mint's produc-
tion. The Seleucid era in Bactra ended at some point after 256 B.C., when Diodotus rebelled
ANTIOCHUS I
dotted border.
Tetradrachm.
of ESM 657cc-p.
phants r.
Tetradrachms.
ESM 665?
Drachm.
1 Newell, ESM, p. 230, suggests that the mint opened no earlier than 289 B.C., based upon the
stylistic correspondence of Bactra's first elephant quadriga tetradrachms with similar issues of Se-
leucia on the Tigris {ESM 69 and 71), struck c. 290-289 B.C. N. Waggoner's judgement that the
elephant quadriga coinage inaugurated the output of the mint at Seleucia c. 305 ("The Early Alexan-
der Coinage at Seleucia on the Tigris," ANSMN 15 (1969), p. 30, would entail an earlier opening date
for Bactra, but this author's study of the early coinage of Seleucus I at Susa (Persepolis, p. 9) tends to
support NewelFs chronology, which links the appearance of the elephant quadriga issues of Seleucia
and elephant biga coins of Susa to the Battle of Ipsus. R. Hadley, "Royal Propaganda of Seleucus I
and Lysimachus," JHS 94 (1974), p. 58, proposes a date after 285 B.C. for the commencement of mint
operations at Bactra. An opening date as early as c. 293 B.C., which has been suggested by M. Mitchi-
ner, Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian Coinage, 1 (London, 1975), p. 10, is not supported by the numis-
Khanoum (Afghanistan)," RN 1980, pp. 17-19, have noted that a brick discovered in the excavations
of Ai Khanoum carries the distinctive monogram A, and have advanced with reservation the possi-
bility that coins of Seleucus I and Antiochus I with the same monogram may have been struck at AI
2 Newell, ESM, p. 249, suggests that Diodotus's claim to full independence from the Seleucid Em-
pire, and the appearance of his own name on coinage of Bactra, did not occur until after the death of
Antiochus II in 247 B.C. A. Bellinger, "The Coins from the Treasure of the Oxus," ANSMN 10 (1962),
pp. 61-63, supports Newell's chronology in rejecting J. Wolski's view that Diodotus did not assume
the title of king in Bactra until 239, during the reign of Seleucus II. As Bellinger has pointed out,
the absence of any known Bactrian coinage of the latter king is persuasive evidence supporting Newell's
Northeast
119
ANTIOCHUS I
Drachm.
Hemidrachm.
gram @.
off flan.
Drachm.
to r., @.
Khanoum 1 (Memoires de la
Obv. As 1284.
Stater.
Tetradrachm.
ANTIOCHUS II
1290.
1291.
1292.
1293.
1294.
1295.
1296.
Stater.
29 (this coin).
I r.
Stater.
120
SELEUCUS I
border.
der.
Drachms.
ESM 753.
r.
grecques et greco-bactriennes
Petitot-Biehler cites G. Le
struck at Ecbatana.
ANTIOCHUS I
Uncertain East
121
a.
region.
ANTIOCHUS II
flan.
Tetradrachm.
1290, above.
SELEUCUS II
rinthian helmet r.
Stater.
ANTIOCHUS III
Tetradrachms.
SELEUCUS IV
fillet border.
122
ANTIOCHUS IV
Tetradrachms.
from Iran.
TIMARCHUS
border.
holding wreath.
DEMETRIUS I
bow.
Tetradrachms.
(this coin).
Obo1.
from Iran.
anchor.
ALEXANDER I BALAS
9EOfTATOPOZ EYEPTETOY
exergue, H.
Tetradrachm.
PLATES
Plate 2
SYRIA SELEUCIS
SYRIA SELEUCIS
Plate 3
Plate 4
SYRIA SELEUCIS
SYRIA SELEUCIS
PIate 5
Plate 6
SYRIA SELEUCIS
SYRIA SELEUCIS
Plate 7
SYRIA SELEUCIS
Plate 9
Plate 10
SYRIA SELEUCIS
SYRIA SELEUCIS
Plate 11
Plate 12
SYRIA SELEUCIS
Plate 14
SYRIA SELEUCIS
SYRIA SELEUCIS
PIate 15
Plate 16
SYRIA SELEUCIS
272
273
275
276
277
280
281
282
283
271
278
279
284
285
289
290
29 1
295
SYRIA SELEUCIS
Plate 17
Plate 18
SYRIA SELEUCIS
SYRIA SELEUCIS
Plate 19
Plate 20
SYRIA SELEUCIS
SYRIA SELEUCIS
Plate 21
Plate 22
SYRIA SELEUCIS
SYRIA SELEUCIS
Plate 24
SYRIA SELEUCIS
CILICIA
Plate 25
Plate 26
CILICIA
Plate 28
CILICIA
Plate 30
CILICIA
CILICIA
Plate 31
Plate 32
CILICIA
Plate 34
Plate 35
Plate 36
HELLESPONT
Plate 38
HELLESPONT
HELLESPONT
Plate 39
Plate 40
PHOENICIA
PHOENICIA
Plate 41
Plate 42
PHOENICIA
PHOENICIA
Plate 43
Plate 44
PHOENICIA
Plate 46
PALESTINE
PALESTINE
Plate 47
Plate 48
PALESTINE
PALESTINE COELE-SYRIA
Plate 49
Plate 50
COELE-SYRIA
Plate 52
MESOPOTAMIA
UNCERTAIN SOUTH
MESOPOTAMIA
Plate 53
Plate 54
MESOPOTAMIA BABYLONIA
Plate 56
BABYLONIA
BABYLONIA
Plate 57
Plate 58
BABYLONIA
IANOIYHVH
95 eatid
Plate 60
BABYLONIA
SUSIANA
Plate 61
Plate 62
SUSIANA
SUSIANA
Plate 63
Plate 64
SUSIANA
SUSIANA
Plate 65
SUSIANA BALUCHISTAN
OEII
9211
szn
LZU
9en
9IIt
8111
LUX
9111
##
5IU
HIT
E1 11
em
0 % 0 <ft & % gk
xxxx
Oil!
9011
L9 n*ld
viaaw NVJ.siHDmva
Plate 68
MEDIA
MEDIA
Plate 69
Plate 70
MEDIA
MEDIA
Plate 71
ZL W\d
vi ciaro
MEDIA
Plate 73
Plate 74
MEDIA
MEDIA NORTHEAST
Plate 75
Plate 76
UNCERTAIN EAST
NORTHEAST
UNCERTAIN EAST
Plate 77