Coin of Antiochus X Eusebes Philopator & Sandon 94-88 BCE


SELEUKID KINGS of SYRIA. Antiochos X Eusebes Philopator. Circa 94-88 BC. AR Drachm (18mm, 3.87 g, 12h). Tarsos mint. Diademed head right, diadem ends falling straight behind; all within fillet border / [Β]ΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ on right, ΕΥΣΕΒΟΥΣ [Φ]ΙΛΟΠΑΤΟΡ[ΟΣ] on left, Sandan standing right, wearing a polos and with a bow and quiver over his shoulder, holding double-headed ax in left hand and flower in right, on the back of horned lion-griffin right; to outer right, N above ΠP monogram. SC 2426A = SCADS33 (same dies), otherwise unpublished. Good VF, toned, edge split, some roughness on obverse, area of weak strike on reverse. Extremely rare, only the second recorded example. According to the description by Oliver Hoover at www.scaddenda.org, which refers to the discovery coin photographed on the website: “This is the first coin known for the king at Tarsus. It is especially notable for its use of a pi-control similar to that previously employed by Antiochus IX and Seleucus VI at the city. It is overstruck on a host coin that had this same control, but apparently a different legend. It seems likely that the host is either an unrecorded variety of Antiochus IX drachm or an entirely unknown drachm of Seleucus VI.” It is also possible that the present specimen was overstruck on an earlier drachm, explaining the weak reverse strike, but there are no signs of the undertype.

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