Heritage World Coin Auctions
CICF Signature Sale 3046 14-15 April 2016
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SELEUCID KINGDOM. Seleucus I Nicator (312-281 BC). AR tetradrachm (26mm, 16.44 gm, 5h). Susa, circa 305-295 BC. Head of Seleucus I right, wearing Attic helmet covered with panther skin and adorned with bull's horns and ear, panther skin tied around neck / EΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ (sic) ΣΕΛΕΥΚΟΥ, Nike standing right, crowning trophy of arms, monograms to lower and between Nike and trophy. SC 173.4. HGC 9 20. A pleasing specimen of this scarce and intriguing issue. NGC AU 5/5 - 4/5. Debate has long swirled regarding the identity of the 'helmeted hero' appearing on the obverse of this type - is it Seleucus I himself, or Alexander the Great, or a composite demigod incorporating features of Seleucus, Alexander and Dionysus? In the new Handbook of Syrian Coins (CNG, 2009), Oliver Hoover opts for identifying the portrait as an idealized image of Seleucus himself. The reverse design of Nike crowning trophy, shown with exemplary centering and unusual clarity in this example, was inspired by a nearly simultaneous issue of the Syracusan tyrant Agathocles thousands of miles away.
Estimate: 3000-4000 USD
SELEUCID KINGDOM. Seleucus I Nicator (312-281 BC). AR tetradrachm (26mm, 16.44 gm, 5h). Susa, circa 305-295 BC. Head of Seleucus I right, wearing Attic helmet covered with panther skin and adorned with bull's horns and ear, panther skin tied around neck / EΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ (sic) ΣΕΛΕΥΚΟΥ, Nike standing right, crowning trophy of arms, monograms to lower and between Nike and trophy. SC 173.4. HGC 9 20. A pleasing specimen of this scarce and intriguing issue. NGC AU 5/5 - 4/5. Debate has long swirled regarding the identity of the 'helmeted hero' appearing on the obverse of this type - is it Seleucus I himself, or Alexander the Great, or a composite demigod incorporating features of Seleucus, Alexander and Dionysus? In the new Handbook of Syrian Coins (CNG, 2009), Oliver Hoover opts for identifying the portrait as an idealized image of Seleucus himself. The reverse design of Nike crowning trophy, shown with exemplary centering and unusual clarity in this example, was inspired by a nearly simultaneous issue of the Syracusan tyrant Agathocles thousands of miles away.
Estimate: 3000-4000 USD