CARIA. Antioch ad Maeandrum. Circa 90/89-65/60 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 27 mm, 15.95 g, 12 h), Aineas, magistrate. Laureate head of Apollo to right with bow and quiver over his shoulder. Rev. ANTIOXEΩN - AINEAΣ Zebu bull standing left, head facing; all within maeander pattern with pilei of the Dioskouroi placed upon at 12 o'clock. BMC 1 and pl. III, 3 (same obverse die) . HN online -. Leschhorn, Lexicon of Greek Coin Inscriptions -. McClean -. SNG Copenhagen -. SNG Lockett -. SNG von Aulock -. Thonemann (forthcoming) Group A, 5.a (O5/R13, this coin). Weber -. Winterthur -. Of the highest rarity, the second known coin of Aineas and the only one in private hands. Well struck and very well centered on a broad flan. Very fine.
The extremely rare coinage of Aineas is of great interest as it was struck from an obverse die which was previously used for the magistrates Diotrephes 'for the fourth time' and Menandros. This groups those three magistrates together, with Aineas likely being the last in the sequence, as his reverse dies are the first to include a distinct symbol (in the form of the pilei of the Dioskouroi placed upon the meander pattern border). For another, newly discovered Antiochian obverse die match between two magistrates, see below, lot 160.