SELEUKID KINGS. Demetrios I Soter, 162-150 BC. Tristater (Gold, 22 mm, 25.59 g, 12 h), Antioch-on-the-Orontes, BΞΡ = SE 162 = 151/0 BC. Tyche, holding a short scepter in her right hand and a cornucopia in her left, seated left on a high-backed throne; to left, Γ (= denomination letter ); below throne, erased Γ. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ / ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ Double cornucopiae bound with fillet; in field to left, monogram of HP; in field to right, monogram of ΠΑ above BΞΡ. HGC 9, 779. SC 1629.2. Extremely rare, possibly unique, and of great historical and numismatic importance. Beautifully struck and well-centered, a wonderful piece. Extremely fine.

From an important Swiss private collection acquired prior to 2005.

There can be no question but that Demetrios I had made many mistakes over the 12 years of his reign. He had offended the Roman Senate by escaping from his situation as a hostage in order to seize the Seleukid kingdom for himself. Once in power, his failure to embrace the happy-go-lucky lifestyle of the Antiochenes made him unpopular in his own capital and his support for the Cappadocian usurper Orophernes gained him Attalos II and Ariarathes V as powerful enemies; in addition to Ptolemy VI, who, as king of Egypt, was predisposed to retake some of the southern territories of the Seleukids. Thus, while general resentments of Demetrios I had swirled around the Seleukid Kingdom for many years, it finally all coalesced around Alexander Balas, a pretended son of Antiochos IV, who was recognized by the Senate as a legitimate claimant to the Seleukid throne in 152 BC. Supported by the combined might of the Attalid, Cappadocian and Ptolemaic kingdoms, Alexander embarked upon a war to overthrow Demetrios I. Despite a valiant attempt to stave off defeat, by 151/0 BC the vultures were circling and Demetrios knew it.

In a remarkable attempt to retain the loyalty of his ministers and soldiers, in 151/0 BC, Demetrios struck an impressive (and now extremely rare) series of gold fractions and multiples at Antioch for distribution as donatives. These range in denomination from tristaters, like the present coin, down to hemistaters, all of which carry Greek letter-numerals to clearly indicate their face value. Interestingly, while the coins feature the usual legends naming the king, the obverse royal portrait that one would expect was replaced by a depiction of Tyche, the patron deity of Demetrios, perhaps in the hope that the goddess of fortune might still turn things around. The reverse features a filleted double cornucopiae, which simultaneously makes reference to the attribute of Tyche and borrows the reverse iconography of the well-known Ptolemaic mnaieia with the portrait of Arsinoe, which are also believed to have been used for donative payments.

Demetrios’ Tyche/cornucopiae gold series reflects the high artistic level that could still be reached by the die engravers of Hellenistic Antioch, even under difficult circumstances. Indeed, it is clear that the dies were executed in some haste. Evidently, the original plan was to locate the marks of value beneath the throne of Tyche, but when the mint reused a distater die for the 2 ½ stater denomination, it necessitated erasing the throne value mark and engraving a new one in the field; subsequently only the field was used for marks of value. In order to standardize the location for the mark of value, the value mark under the throne was erased in the die and moved to the field. Unfortunately, all of this effort proved to be in vain. Demetrios was defeated and killed in July 150 BC, probably not long after the Tyche/cornucipiae gold coins were struck and distributed. Tyche had abandoned him after all.