CILICIA. Uncertain. Obol (Silver, 12 mm, 0.64 g, 6 h), SE 229 = 84/3 BC. Horizontal crescent set on a thyrsos. Rev. ΘK-Σ (date) Club. Classical Numismatic Group E-Auction 403 (2017), 225. Leu 2 (2018), 125. Nomos 12 (2016), 113. Roma E-Sale 40 (2017), 221. Very rare and beautifully preserved. Struck somewhat off center and with faint marks, otherwise, about extremely fine.


The era used on this enigmatic coin is, as the Nomos cataloguer rightly pointed out, most likely Seleukid. This dates the issue to 84/3 BC, which is the year of the invasion of Syria by Tigranes II 'the Great' and the expulsion of Philip I Philadelphos from Antioch that brought the everlasting fratricidal wars of the late Seleukid Empire to an abrupt end. It is unclear to what extent Cilicia, where Philip I withdrew to for some time, became part of the Armenian Kingdom, but the present coin - which is, in this cataloguer's opinion, in all probability Cilician - may well be a reaction of local authorities to a regional power vacuum resulting from the collapse of the Seleukid Empire. The lack of ethnic points toward a military background of the issue, and the decidedly non-specific and non-royal types, a thyrsos with a crescent and a club, likely reflect the political instability and uncertain political future faced by local authorities in the year 83 BC.