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NYINC Signature Sale 3081 12-13 Jan 2020
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Ancients
SELEUCID KINGDOM. Seleucus I Nicator (312-281 BC). AR tetradrachm (26mm, 17.22 gm, 11h). NGC AU 5/5 - 5/5. Susa, ca. 305/4-295 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; dotted border / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ΣΕΛΕΥΚΟΥ, Nike standing right, crowning trophy of arms built on tree, branch at base to right; KAT monogram to lower left, ΠΥΡ monogram between Nike and trophy. SC 173.4.
From a Private Japanese Collection. Ex Heritage Auction 3030 (NYINC, 5 January 2014), lot 23796.
Debate has long swirled regarding the identity of the 'helmeted hero' appearing on the obverse of this type - is it Seleucus I, or Alexander the Great, or a composite demigod incorporating features of Seleucus, Alexander and Dionysus? In the Handbook of Syrian Coins (CNG, 2009), Oliver Hoover opts for identifying the portrait as an idealized image of Seleucus I himself. The reverse design of Nike crowning trophy, in fine style on this example, was paralleled by a nearly simultaneous issue of the Syracusan tyrant Agathocles hundreds of miles away. The motif would prove highly influential in both Greek and Roman coins for centuries to come.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-seleucid-kingdom-seleucus-i-nicator-312-281-bc-ar-tetradrachm-26mm-1722-gm-11h-ngc-au-5-5-5-5/a/3081-30124.s?type=CoinArchives3081
HID02906262019
© 2019 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 5000-7000 USD
SELEUCID KINGDOM. Seleucus I Nicator (312-281 BC). AR tetradrachm (26mm, 17.22 gm, 11h). NGC AU 5/5 - 5/5. Susa, ca. 305/4-295 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; dotted border / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ΣΕΛΕΥΚΟΥ, Nike standing right, crowning trophy of arms built on tree, branch at base to right; KAT monogram to lower left, ΠΥΡ monogram between Nike and trophy. SC 173.4.
From a Private Japanese Collection. Ex Heritage Auction 3030 (NYINC, 5 January 2014), lot 23796.
Debate has long swirled regarding the identity of the 'helmeted hero' appearing on the obverse of this type - is it Seleucus I, or Alexander the Great, or a composite demigod incorporating features of Seleucus, Alexander and Dionysus? In the Handbook of Syrian Coins (CNG, 2009), Oliver Hoover opts for identifying the portrait as an idealized image of Seleucus I himself. The reverse design of Nike crowning trophy, in fine style on this example, was paralleled by a nearly simultaneous issue of the Syracusan tyrant Agathocles hundreds of miles away. The motif would prove highly influential in both Greek and Roman coins for centuries to come.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-seleucid-kingdom-seleucus-i-nicator-312-281-bc-ar-tetradrachm-26mm-1722-gm-11h-ngc-au-5-5-5-5/a/3081-30124.s?type=CoinArchives3081
HID02906262019
© 2019 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 5000-7000 USD