Seleukid Coins

Seleukos II

Silver coin  •  References

Identification Number SE2-AR-01
Mint:	Antioch on the Orontes1
Period:	c. 244 - 226 BC
Denomination:	AR Tetradrachm
Weight:	17.08 g
Diameter:	28 - 29 mm
Obverse:	Diademed head of Seleukos II right; dotted border
Reverse:	‘ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ’ on right, ‘ΣΕΛΕΥΚΟΥ’ on left (“of King Seleukos”); Apollo standing left, testing arrow and resting left elbow on tall tripod; control marks in inner left and outer right fields
Die Position:	0º
References:	Houghton and Lorber, SC I, 689.1a; Le Rider, Antioche, p. 62, No. 18, Plate 6.17 (dies A2/P9); Newell, WSM, 991

¹ 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).

References:

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)

Le Rider, Georges: Antioche de Syrie sous les Séleucides. Corpus des monnaies d’or et d’argent. Vol. 1: De Séleucos I à Antiochos V, c. 300-161. Institut de France, Paris, 1999. (abbr. Antioche)

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)