Heritage World Coin Auctions
CICF Signature Sale 3032 10-12 April 2014
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SELEUCID KINGDOM. Seleucus I Nicator (312-281 BC). AR tetradrachm (27mm, 16.93 gm, 4h). Susa, circa 305-295 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 / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΕΛΕYΚΟY, Nike standing right, crowning trophy of arms, M to lower left, AX between Nike and trophy. SC 174.14. ESM (Persepolis) 420. HSC 20. Well struck, with full detail in panther skin, and nicely centered on a broad flan. Gray "find patina" intact. Choice Extremely Fine.Debate has long swirled regarding the identity of the 'helmeted hero' appearing on the obverse of this type - is it Seleucus I himself, or Alexander the Great, or a composite demigod incorporating features of Seleucus, Alexander and Dionysus? In the new Handbook of Syrian Coins (CNG, 2009), Oliver Hoover opts for identifying the portrait as an idealized image of Seleucus himself. The reverse design of Nike crowning trophy, shown with exemplary centering and unusual clarity in 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.
Estimate: 15000-20000 USD
SELEUCID KINGDOM. Seleucus I Nicator (312-281 BC). AR tetradrachm (27mm, 16.93 gm, 4h). Susa, circa 305-295 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 / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΕΛΕYΚΟY, Nike standing right, crowning trophy of arms, M to lower left, AX between Nike and trophy. SC 174.14. ESM (Persepolis) 420. HSC 20. Well struck, with full detail in panther skin, and nicely centered on a broad flan. Gray "find patina" intact. Choice Extremely Fine.Debate has long swirled regarding the identity of the 'helmeted hero' appearing on the obverse of this type - is it Seleucus I himself, or Alexander the Great, or a composite demigod incorporating features of Seleucus, Alexander and Dionysus? In the new Handbook of Syrian Coins (CNG, 2009), Oliver Hoover opts for identifying the portrait as an idealized image of Seleucus himself. The reverse design of Nike crowning trophy, shown with exemplary centering and unusual clarity in 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.
Estimate: 15000-20000 USD