Seleukid Portraits on Non-Seleukid Coins

Ancient Imitations and Counterfeits

Silver coin  •  Bronze coin  •  References

Identification Number AIC-AR-01
Mint:	uncertain mint
Period:	probably 150 - 145 BC1
Denomination:	AR Drachm
Weight:	3.95 g
Diameter:	17 - 18 mm
Obverse:	Diademed head of Alexander I right, of barbarous style; dotted border
Reverse:	‘[Β]ΛΣΙΛΕ[ΩΣ] [Α]ΛΕΞΛΝ(retrograde)ΔΡ[ΟΥ]’ right, ‘ΘΕΟΠΑΤΟΡΟ[Σ] (Ε?)ΛΕΡΙΕΟ(Υ?)’ left; nude Apollo seated left on omphalos2, holding arrow in outstretched right hand and resting left hand on bow; control marks, if any, off flan
Die Position:	c. 25º
References:	–
Note:	Alexander I’s official drachms of Apollo on the omphalos type bear either the legend ‘ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ ΘΕΟΠΑΤΟΡΟΣ ΕΥΕΡΓΕΤΟΥ’ (“of King Alexander, Son of a Deified Father, Benefactor”) or its variation ‘ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ ΘΕΟΠΑΤΟΡΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΥΕΡΓΕΤΟΥ’ (“of King Alexander, Son of a Deified Father and Benefactor”).

Identification Number AIC-AE-01
Mint:	uncertain southern mint
Period:	probably 175 - 164 BC3
Denomination:	AE Unit
Weight:	3.29 g
Diameter:	15.0 - 15.5 mm
Obverse:	Diademed, radiate head of Antiochos IV right; crude control mark in left field (“X” ?); fillet border
Reverse:	Figure seated left on high-backed throne (?), holding Nike (?) in outstretched right hand, left hand at side; dotted border
Die Position:	0º
References:	compare SNG Spaer, 1168 - 1179
Note:	This crude coin is either a barbarous imitation or a contemporary counterfeit.4 It seems that it was modelled on a series of Antiochos IV’s coins issued in an uncertain southern mint and described in SNG Spaer, 1168 - 1179:
	Obv.: Diademed, radiate head of Antiochos IV right; control mark in left field; fillet border
	Rev.: ‘ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ’ right, ‘ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ’ left; Goddess, wearing polos (?), seated left on high-backed throne, holding Nike in outstretched right hand, left hand at side; at feet a bird to left; control mark beneath throne; dotted border
	Sizes and weights of the 12 coins of this series recorded in SNG Spaer range from 12 to 17 mm and from 2.06 to 5.03 g, respectively. Their mean weight is 3.58 g. Nine of them (75%) have vertical die axes.

¹ Regnal dates of Alexander I.

² The omphalos (“navel” in Greek) was a sacred stone at Delphi. It was supposed to mark the center of the earth. Similar stones were erected in several areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.

Pausanias, Description of Greece, 10.16.3: What is called the Omphalus by the Delphians is made of white marble, and is said by the Delphians to be the center of all the earth.

³ Regnal dates of Antiochos IV.

⁴ Sayles, Classical Deception, p. 30: There is a fine distinction between contemporary counterfeits of ancient coins and contemporary or later imitations. The former are generally thought of as coins that were produced by individuals for profit motives. The latter served as the official currency of a political entity, and were produced in emulation of another state’s coinage for purposes of politics or trade.

References:

Houghton, Arthur; Spaer, Arnold (with the assistance of Catharine Lorber): Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum. Israel I. The Arnold Spaer Collection of Seleucid Coins. Italo Vecchi Ltd., London, 1998. (abbr. SNG Spaer)

Pausanias: Description of Greece. Translated by W. H. S. Jones and H. A. Ormerod. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1918. (The Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.org/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Paus.+toc)

Sayles, Wayne G.: Classical Deception: Counterfeits, Forgeries and Reproductions of Ancient Coins. Krause Publications, Iola (Wisconsin), 2001.