Seleucid kings. Seleucus I Nicator, 312 – 281

Distater, uncertain mint in Cappadocia, eastern Syria, or northern Mesopotamia circa 305-281, AV 22 mm, 17.16 g. Head of Athena r., wearing triple-crested Corinthian helmet decorated with a coiled serpent. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY Nike standing l., holding wreath and stylis; below l. wing, MA monogram. SC 55 (this coin). WSM 1334 and pl. 51, 9 (this obverse die).
Extremely rare, only five specimens known of this important and fascinating issue.
An interesting portrait struck in high relief, about extremely fine

Ex Leu 36, 1985, 173 and Triton II, 1998, 463 sales. From the Phoenix Art Museum and from the Orme Lewis Sr. Collection. From a Scandinavian private collection.
Outside of Ptolemaic Egypt it was unusual for any Greek kingdom to produce high denomination gold or silver coins. Even under Alexander III, whose gold distaters are not infrequently encountered, it must be noted that they are significantly rarer than his staters. The large gold coins of the Seleucids are similarly rare and were issued only infrequently. Under Seleucus I they are limited to distaters and double-darics, and under later kings they occur only as octodrachms issued by Seleucus II, Seleucus III, Antiochus III, Cleopatra Thea & Antiochus VIII, and Antiochus, the son of Seleucus IV. This issue of distaters is the only one known for any Seleucid king and represents a single emission at a single mint. It bears the familiar Alexandrine stater-type that often was called into service by Seleucus I, though in this case it bears the king’s name rather than that of Alexander, which suggests it was struck after 305/4 B.C., when Seleucus I claimed the title basileus. The location of its mint is unknown, though Houghton and Lorber agreed with Newell that it likely was in Cappadocia or Syria, with the former authors also suggesting it could have been in Northern Mesopotamia. Because of its rarity, it is clear that large-denomination gold in the Seleucid world was issued only for special occasions. Houghton and Lorber suggest that because this mint produced both distaters and staters, it must have been „a centre of commercial or strategic importance.“ The possible occasions for this distater include the defeat of Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus in 301, the elevation of Antiochus I as co-regent in 294, and perhaps even the defeat of Lysimachus at Corupedium early in 281, which had occurred just seven months before Seleucus himself was murdered.