SELEUCID KINGDOM. Seleucus I Nicator (312-281 BC). AR tetradrachm (27mm, 16.93 gm, 6h). NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 3/5, graffito. Susa, ca. 305/4-295 BC. Head of Seleucus I right, wearing Attic helmet covered with panther skin and decorated with bull horns and ear, panther skin tied around neck; dotted border / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ΣΕΛΕΥΚΟΥ, Nike standing right, crowning trophy of arms built on tree, branch at base to right; ATO monogram to lower left, MI between Nike and trophy. SC 173.9. From the Dynasty Collection, #205. Debate has long swirled regarding the identity of the 'helmeted hero' appearing on the obverse of this type - is it Seleucus I, or Alexander the Great, or a composite demigod incorporating features of Seleucus, Alexander and Dionysus? In the Handbook of Syrian Coins (CNG, 2009), Oliver Hoover opts for identifying the portrait as an idealized image of Seleucus I himself. The reverse design of Nike crowning trophy, in fine style on 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. HID09801242017 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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