Pre-Long Beach Auction #80

Seleukid Kingdom. Posthumous issue in the name of Antiochos IV Epiphanes. Silver Drachm (4.2 g), 146/5 BC. Antioch on the Orontes, during the interregnum immediately following Alexander I's withdrawal from the city. Diademed head of Antiochos IV right. Reverse BAΣIΛEΩΣ [A]NTI-OΧOY [E]ΠIΦ-ANOYΣ, Apollo seated left on omphalos, testing arrow and resting hand on grounded bow; in exergue, monogram. SC 1886g; Mørkhom, NC 1960, 13; HGC 9, 745. Lustrous and rare in this high grade. Nearly Mint State.

Alexander I Balas was a pretender to the Seleukid throne who with Ptolemaic support replaced the hated Demetrios I. He was an uninspired ruler, however, leaving the tasks of government to his ministers while he lived frivolously. As a result, the kingdom suffered extensive territorial losses to both the Parthians and Elymaians.

In 146 BC, the son of Demetrios I, Demetrios II, advanced into Cilicia at the head of a large army of Cretan mercenaries with the intent of overthrowing the pretender. Ptolemy VI marched north through Koile-Syria in support of Alexander, but in Ptolemaïs the latter attempted to have him assassinated, so he then switched his support to Demetrios II. Ptolemaic agents in Antioch instigated the citizenry to rise up against Alexander, and he fled the city. Within a short time Ptolemy arrived in the capital city, where he was offered but refused the diadem, convincing the reluctant Antiochenes to accept Demetrios II as king. This rare coin was struck during this tumultuous period following Alexander's withdrawal from the city but before the arrival of Ptolemy.
Estimated Value $500 - 600.