SELEUKID KINGS. Antiochos VIII Epiphanes (Grypos), 121/0-97/6 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 27 mm, 16.51 g, 12 h), Tarsos, 121/0-114/3. Diademed head of Antiochos VIII to right.
Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ - ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ Garlanded altar with triangular baldachin surmounted by an eagle standing right, wings spread, on headstone; within, Sandan standing right on a horned and winged lion to right; before and behind lion, uncertain object; in exergue, two monograms. Lanz 155 (2012), 315 (
same dies). SC -, cf. 2285 (differing monograms). An extremely rare variety. Beautifully toned and with both an attractive portrait and a detailed rendering of the civic reverse. Good very fine.
From the Basileiai Hellēnikai Collection of Exceptional Tetradrachms and from the collection of Regierungsrat Dr. iur. Hans Krähenbühl, Leu 8, 23 October 2021, 156, ex Hess-Leu 49, 27-28 April 1971, 261.
Under Antiochos VIII, only 'civic' reverse types featuring the Sandan monument were likely minted in Tarsos (SC 2283 with a 'royal' reverse requires confirmation). Sandan, originally a Luwian or Hurrian deity, was the chief god of Tarsos, associated with fertility, weather, and war. Over time, he was syncretized with Melqart and Herakles. On the coin reverses, he appears within a garlanded altar, standing atop a winged and horned lion. This iconic motif highlights his role as the city's protector and references the annual fire festival, during which his statue was ritually burned
