Seleukid Coins

Seleukos I

Silver coin  •  Bronze coin  •  References

Identification Number SE1-AR-01
Mint:	Babylon1
Period:	c. 311 - c. 300 BC2
Denomination:	AR Obol
Weight:	0.56 g
Diameter:	8 - 9 mm
Obverse:	Head of Herakles right in lion skin headdress; dotted border
Reverse:	Club, quiver, and bow upright; monogram in wreath in left field and ‘Η’ in right field
Die Position:	0º
References:	Houghton and Lorber, SC I, 85; Classical Numismatic Group, Mail Bid Sale 72 (June 14, 2006), Lot 883 (same dies)
Notes:	(1) The Makedonian kingdom under king Archelaus and his successors through Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great, employed a silver stater of five drachms. The obol therefore represents one-sixth of a drachm and one-thirties of a stater. See Houghton and Lorber, SC I, 84 and 85 (p. 42).
	(2) This anepigraphic design with the head of Herakles on the obverse and with the club, quiver and bow on the reverse was employed on three silver denominations: drachm (i.e., 1/5 of a stater) – Houghton and Lorber, SC I, 84; see also Classical Numismatic Group, Triton VII (January 12, 2004), Lot 337, and Triton IX (January 10, 2006), Lot 1000 obol (i.e., 1/30 of a stater) – Houghton and Lorber, SC I, 85 hemiobol (i.e., 1/60 of a stater) – see Classical Numismatic Group, Mail Bid Sale 72 (June 14, 2006), Lot 884

Identification Number SE1-AE-01
Mint:	Antioch on the Orontes3 (Apamea ?)
Period:	late 280s BC (?)
Denomination:	AE Unit
Weight:	6.78 g
Diameter:	18 - 19 mm
Obverse:	Figure of an older bearded man with a headgear, nude to waist, seated left on rock, holding ankus4 in extended right hand and resting left hand behind him; dotted border
Reverse:	‘ΒΑΣΙΛΕ[ΩΣ]’ above, ‘[ΣΕ]ΛΕΥΚΟΥ’ below (“of King Seleukos”); horned head of elephant right, with trunk uplifted; control marks, if any, off flan;5 dotted border
Die Position:	180º
References:	Houghton and Lorber, SC I, 25; Houghton, CSE, 12; Hunterian Coll. III, p. 9, No. 31; Newell, WSM, 929; SNG Spaer, 32; Collection of the American Numismatic Society, Accession No. 1944.100.75023; Münzen & Medaillen GmbH, Auction 17 (October 4, 2005), Lot 1011 (same obverse die); Ancient Imports (Marc Breitsprecher); Freeman & Sear, stock Nos. G7354, G7355 and G7356; Tom Vossen, stock No. 6151
Note:	As it is visible on this well-preserved specimen, the enigmatic male figure on the obverse is bearded (see also the specimen sold by Münzen & Medaillen GmbH in Auction 17, October 2005, as Lot 1011) and wearing a headgear, very probably a turban. The object which the figure holds is nearly certainly an elephant goad used by elephant handlers.
	The long beard completely excludes a representation of Apollo, as the figure was described by MacDonald in Catalogue of Greek Coins in the Hunterian Collection, Vol. 3, p. 9, No. 31.6 Newell, The Coinage of the Western Seleucid Mints from Seleucus I to Antiochus III, p. 102, suggests an idealized representation of Seleukos I as the ελεφανταρχης, the master of elephants, in allusion to his mighty corps of war elephants.7 According to Newell, this type was issued at the very end of Seleukos I’s reign after his victory over Lysimachos at Korupedion in 281 BC. However, the beard, the turban and the unroyal appearance of the figure exclude a representation of Seleukos I himself.
	Catharine Lorber and Panagiotis Iossif are preparing a study devoted to this noteworthy type.8 According to their conclusions based on a thorough and deep analysis, the coin portrays Dionysos as the conqueror of India, the patron of the Seleukid elephant corps, and the guiding power behind the victory at Ipsus. The turban is probably an attempt to express the oriental aspect of Dionysos and it is consistent with the inventiveness of Seleukos’ iconography generally. The elephant goad links the figure to India, which for the Greeks was above all the land of elephants. It also connects the obverse scene with the heroized or divine elephant on the reverse (the horns indicate that it is not an ordinary animal). The type of Dionysos and the elephant support the reattribution to Apamea, home of the Seleukid elephant corps and a center of the worship of Dionysos. This rare special issue was probably intended for the soldiers of the elephant corps and it could be much earlier than the late 280s BC.

¹ Originally one of the most famous cities of antiquity and the capital of southern Mesopotamia (Babylonia). Its importance was reduced by the building of Seleukeia on the Tigris, the eastern capital of the Seleucid Empire.

² See Houghton and Lorber, SC I, p. 40.

³ Antioch was founded about 300 BC by Seleukos I Nikator, the founder of the Seleukid Dynasty, and it became the principal capital of the Seleukid Empire. The city was named after a family name Antiochos, passed from his father to his son (Antiochos I Soter). There were a number of other cities by the same name and this Antioch was known as Antioch on the Orontes (i.e. the Orontes River, along which it was located).

⁴ The ankus, or ancus, is an elephant goad used by elephant riders and trainers. It consists of a metal head attached to a handle. The head consists of two pointed tips, with one tip curving away from a straight tip.

⁵ Houghton’s specimen (Houghton, CSE, 12), one specimen cited by Newell (WSM, 929 η, Plate XVII, 25) and one specimen offered by Freeman & Sear have the letter Ξ in the exergue.

⁶ MacDonald’s description of the obverse: Apollo, naked to waist, holding arrow in extended r., and leaning with l. on rock on which he is seated l.

⁷ Plutarch, Demetrius 25: ... whereas Demetrius (Demetrios Poliorketes) used to ridicule those who gave the name of king to any except himself and his father (Antigonos Monopthalmos); and in his entertainments was well pleased when his followers, after drinking to him and his father as kings, went on to drink the healths of Seleucus (Seleukos I), with the title of Master of the Elephants; of Ptolemy (Ptolemy I), by the name of High Admiral; of Lysimachus, with the addition of Treasurer; and of Agathocles, with the style of Governor of the Island of Sicily.

⁸ My warmest thanks to Catharine Lorber and Panagiotis Iossif for their kind permission to present their preliminary results and for informing me about the progress of their research.

References:

Houghton, Arthur: Coins of the Seleucid Empire from the Collection of Arthur Houghton. The American Numismatic Society, New York, 1983. (abbr. CSE)

Houghton, Arthur; Lorber, Catharine: Seleucid Coins, A Comprehensive Catalogue. Part I, Volumes 1 and 2. The American Numismatic Society, New York, in association with Classical Numismatic Group, Inc., Lancaster/London, 2002. (abbr. SC I)

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)

MacDonald, George: Catalogue of Greek Coins in the Hunterian Collection, University of Glasgow. Volume 3. Further Asia, Northern Africa, Western Europe. Elibron Classics, Adamant Media Corporation, 2003. Replica edition of the edition published by James Maclehose and Sons, Glasgow, 1905. (abbr. Hunterian Coll. III)

Newell, Edward T.: The Coinage of the Western Seleucid Mints from Seleucus I to Antiochus III. Numismatic Studies No. 4. The American Numismatic Society, New York, 1977 (reprint of the 1941 original edition with a summary of recent scholarship by Otto Mørkholm). (abbr. WSM)

Plutarch: Demetrius. Translated by John Dryden. (4Literature.net, http://www.4literature.net/Plutarch/Demetrius)