Watch List notes:

Mysia, Pergamon, Philetairos (282-263 BC), silver tetradrachm, diademed head of deified Seleukos I right, rev., ΦΙΛΕΤΑΙΡΟΥ, Athena seated left holding spear and resting right hand on shield centred with gorgoneion; above, ivy leaf; below exergual line, monogram, 16.96g, die axis 12.00, some marks but about extremely fine/good very fine and rare. References: Newell 13; SNG France 1602; cf. SNG Lockett 2718, same obverse die; SNG von Aulock 7451, same obverse die; cf. Kraay/Hirmer 736. Provenance: The Bru Sale 3, Brussels, 6 May 2011, lot 42. Note: Struck at Pergamon by Philetairos, the founder of the Attalid dynasty, this is the only lifetime issue in his own name. The canny use of his name without a title, while utilizing a portrait of the deified Seleucus (whom he genuinely seems to have esteemed) "clearly proclaims Pergamum's practical independence; while the fiction of continued suzerainty of the Seleucid dynasty was happily maintained" (Newell, p. 33). The obverse head of Seleucus with its robust modelling, keenly observed features, and intense gaze, remains one of the most visually arresting of all Hellenistic numismatic portraits. (4000 - 6000 GBP)