SELEUKID KINGS. Antiochos VI Dionysos, 144-142 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 33 mm, 16.87 g, 12 h), Antiochia on the Orontes. Struck under Tryphon, SE 169 = 144/3. Radiate and diademed head of Antiochos VI to right. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ - ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ / ΔΙΟΝΥΣΟΥ The Dioskouroi galloping left, each holding lance in his right hand and reins in his left; to right, TPY above monogram of HAP above ΣTA; below horses, ΘΞP (date); all within wreath of lily, ivy and grain leaves and ears. CSE 232. HGC 9, 1032. SC 2000.2d. SMA 229. Exceptionally well preserved, with very attractive iridescent toning and a superb portrait of splendid Hellenistic style. With a beautifully centered, medallic obverse and very likely the finest known example. Good extremely fine.



Antiochos VI Dionysos was the young son of Alexander I Balas and, in 145/144 BC, at about four years of age, was proclaimed king by Diodotos, the future Tryphon, as a rival to Demetrios II. Real power, however, lay from the outset in the hands of his 'protector.' That is precisely what makes his coinage so compelling: although the coins still bear the name of the legitimate Seleukid ruler, the discreet TPY on the reverse already signals the presence of the man behind the throne, who would soon claim power for himself.

The portrait of the child king on this splendid tetradrachm is among the finest royal portraits to survive from antiquity. Wearing the Hellenistic royal diadem and a radiate crown, the young Seleukid appears as an idealised youthful ruler, with delicate, slightly rounded features and softly curling hair that together suggest his tender age. The die engraver worked with extraordinary refinement, creating a masterpiece in which even the pupil and the tiny hairs of the eyebrows remain visible.