SELEUKID KINGS. Antiochos I Soter, 281-261 BC. AE (Bronze, 14 mm, 2.96 g, 6 h), Antiochia in Margiane. Diademed head of Antiochos I to right. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ - ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ Nike standing front, head to right; to right, large anchor upward. HGC 9, 185. SC 422. Extremely rare, apparently the second and finest known example of this highly unusual issue. Minor traces of corrosion and with some cleaning scratches on the reverse, otherwise, good fine.



It is unclear whether the Hellenistic city of Antiochia in Margiana - later known as Merv in present-day Turkmenistan - was founded by Alexander I or by the Seleukids. However, the city's expansion is clearly associated with Antiochos I, who, beginning in the late 290s BC, ruled as viceroy over the Seleukid East and initiated a large-scale urbanization policy. Antiochos surrounded his eponymous city, Antiochia in Margiana, with a massive city wall over 8 km long and nearly 14 meters high, impressive remnants of which are still visible today. The monumental scale of the ruins, now called Gyaur Kala - especially in comparison to the much smaller Achaemenid predecessor settlement - testifies to the transformative impact of Macedonian rule over Central Asia.

Previously, this coin type was known only from a single, very poorly preserved specimen, where neither the coin type nor the inscriptions were clearly identifiable. With our piece, it is now evident that the reverse side depicts a winged Nike, not Athena. She stands next to the well-known Seleukid anchor, a sacred symbol intended to affirm the dynasty's divine descent from Apollo.