SELEUKID EMPIRE. Seleukos I Nikator. 312-281 B.C. AR tetradrachm. 17.22 gm. 27 mm. In the types of Alexander III of Macedon. Seleukeia on the Tigris I mint. Struck circa 300-281 B.C. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Nikephoros seated left; monogram in left field, M below throne; ΣΕΛΕΥΚΟΥ BAΣIΛEΩΣ. SC 119.8c. HGC 9, 16f. Very Fine; light attractive tone with some underlying iridescence; particularly fine style portrait.

"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).