Leu Numismatik AG
Web Auction 2 3 Dec 2017
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SELEUKID KINGS OF SYRIA. Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 26 mm, 16.85 g, 6 h), uncertain mint in the East, after circa 296/5. Laureate head of Zeus to right. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ - ΣEΛEΥKOΥ Athena, hurling spear with her right hand and holding shield with her left, standing right in quadriga of elephants moving to right; above to right, anchor right. Cf. CNG 72 (2006), 915 and Nomos 8 (2013), 200 (both from the same obverse die). SC 130 var. Very rare and interesting. Small die break on the neck of Zeus, otherwise, good very fine.
The reverse die of the examples in CNG 72 and Nomos 8 features a curious spelling mistake: ΣEAEΥKOΥ rather than ΣEΛEΥKOΥ. This and the lack of any controls led the CNG cataloguer to describe his example as a contemporary imitation, a view that was corrected in Nomos 8. Our coin combines the obverse die of the CNG and Nomos pieces with a regular reverse die without any spelling error. It thus confirms that these coins are part of an official issue, possibly from a military mint in the eastern provinces.
The reverse die of the examples in CNG 72 and Nomos 8 features a curious spelling mistake: ΣEAEΥKOΥ rather than ΣEΛEΥKOΥ. This and the lack of any controls led the CNG cataloguer to describe his example as a contemporary imitation, a view that was corrected in Nomos 8. Our coin combines the obverse die of the CNG and Nomos pieces with a regular reverse die without any spelling error. It thus confirms that these coins are part of an official issue, possibly from a military mint in the eastern provinces.