SELEUKID KINGS. Antiochos I Soter, joint reign with Seleukos I (?), 294-281 BC. Obol (Silver, 9 mm, 0.60 g, 12 h), uncertain mint in the East. Macedonian helmet of the Phrygian type. Rev. A - B Uncertain symbol; all within dotted circle within shallow round incuse. SC -. Apparently unpublished and unique. Harshly cleaned and with minor remnants of horn silver, otherwise, very fine.
This unpublished coin type can be securely attributed to the Seleukids only on the basis of the enigmatic reverse symbol, which also appears on Lot 249 above. The legend A - B can therefore confidently be expanded as ANTIOXOY BAΣΙΛΕΩΣ and must refer to Antiochos I. From 294 BC, Antiochos governed the Upper Satrapies as viceroy alongside his father Seleukos. He appears to have played an important role not only in pacifying these eastern territories, but also in their development. Numerous urban foundations once readily associated with Alexander’s campaigns are now attributed by modern scholarship to Antiochos’ activities during his years in the East. Among them is the celebrated city of Ai-Khanoum, whose ancient name remains an unresolved question. Whereas the type represented by Lot 249 draws on the iconography of Alexander and of Seleukos, the founder of the dynasty, the present, hitherto unknown piece departs markedly from this tradition. The obverse depicts a Macedonian helmet of Phrygian type, a form well attested among Macedonian troops, while the reverse bears the enigmatic symbol together with the king’s name and title reduced to the two initials A - B. This unusual combination of types, together with the highly abbreviated designation of the (vice-)king, argues in favour of dating these coins to the period in which Antiochos governed the Upper Satrapies alongside his father, although an early issue struck after the death of Seleukos cannot be excluded.