★ A very rare tetradrachm of Seleukos I Nikator ★

SELEUKID KINGS OF SYRIA. Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 26 mm, 16.85 g, 6 h), uncertain mint in the East, after circa 296/5. Laureate head of Zeus to right. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ - ΣEΛEΥKOΥ Athena, hurling spear with her right hand and holding shield with her left, standing right in quadriga of elephants moving to right; above to right, anchor right. Cf. CNG 72 (2006), 915 and Nomos 8 (2013), 200 ( both from the same obverse die ). SC 130 var. Very rare and interesting. Small die break on the neck of Zeus , otherwise, good very fine.

The reverse die of the examples in CNG 72 and Nomos 8 features a curious spelling mistake: ΣEAEΥKOΥ rather than ΣEΛEΥKOΥ. This and the lack of any controls led the CNG cataloguer to describe his example as a contemporary imitation, a view that was corrected in Nomos 8. Our coin combines the obverse die of the CNG and Nomos pieces with a regular reverse die without any spelling error. It thus confirms that these coins are part of an official issue, possibly from a military mint in the eastern provinces.