SELEUCID KINGDOM. Antiochus II Theos (261-246 BC). AV stater (18mm, 8.51 gm, 12h). NGC MS S 4/5 - 4/5. Posthumous issue of Miletus, in name and types of Alexander the Great of Macedon, ca. 250 BC. Head of Athena right, hair flowing in loose waves behind and over left shoulder and upswept at temple, wearing pendant earring, beaded necklace, and triple-crested Corinthian helmet pushed back on head, short parallel crest ends, bowl decorated with coiled serpent right / AΛEΞANΔPOY, Nike standing facing, head left, wreath in outstretched right hand, palm branch cradled in left arm; ΠAYC monogram in left field. Price 3785 (this coin). SC 548a (this coin). A. Houghton, "Tarik Darreh (Kangavar) Hoard," ANSMN 25 (1980), 34 (this coin). Unique, one of only two Alexandrine staters from this issue, and the sole example with this control mark and in sales archives. This beautiful coin captivates with its bright, sunny, and gleaming surfaces. Ex Mieza Collection (Nomos, Auction 7, 15 May 2013), lot 145; The Millennia Collection (Goldberg, Auction 46, 26 May 2008), lot 48; Ed Waddell, Auction 101 (19 December 2005), lot 4; Classical Numismatic Group, Triton VIII (11 January 2005), lot 529; A. Houghton Collection (Classical Numismatic Group, Auction 54, 14 June 2000), lot 484; Numismatic Fine Arts, Auction II (25-26 March 1976), lot 119; Tarik Darreh Hoard (1974). The attribution of this piece to Miletus ca. 250 BC under Antiochus II is based upon the hoard evidence and the presence of the palm branch, a motif which is present on his coinage of Asia Minor (see SC, pg. 195). The date and location suggest that the occasion for this rare issue was the liberation of Miletus from Ptolemaic authority, the event which prompted Antiochus' assumption of his epithet Theos. HID09801242017 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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