SELEUKID EMPIRE. Seleukos I Nikator. As satrap, 321-315 B.C. AR tetradrachm. 17.15 gm. 26 mm. In the name of Philip III and types of Alexander III of Macedon. Uncertain Mint 6A (in Babylonia). Struck circa 320-315 B.C. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; monogram on shield in left field, monogram below throne; ΦIΛIΠΠOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ. SC Ad39.1. Taylor Series I, 6 var. (A6/P– [unlisted reverse die]). Price P165 (Marathos). HGC 9, 11a. Good Very Fine; attractive light toning with slight iridescence; bold portrait.

Ex CNG eAuction 399 (14 June 2017) lot 399.

"The Seleukid Empire was the largest of the successor states carved from the short-lived empire of Alexander the Great, and arguably the most culturally diverse. Over nearly two and a half centuries it produced an astonishing volume and variety of coinage...from mints scattered across its vast expanse." (Seleucid Coins: A Comprehensive Catalogue, Volume I, by Arthur Houghton and Catharine Lorber with Brian Kritt.) Lots 41-48 continue our offering of Seleukid coins begun in our last sale, with all but one (45) from the same collection. Included are a handful of tetradrachms from several different mints of Seleukos I, who founded the Seleukid dynasty which ruled until Pompey made Syria a Roman province in 63 B.C. It concludes with a handsome portrait tetradrachm of his son and successor, Antiochos I Soter (48).