BAKTRIA, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Agathokles Dikaios. Circa 185-175 BC. AR Tetradrachm (33mm, 16.45 g, 12h). Commemorative issue struck for Antiochos III of Syria. EF.

Triton XXVII
Lot: 399. Estimated: $ 5 000

Oriental Greek, Coin-in-Hand Video, Silver

Sold For $ 7 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Go to Live

BAKTRIA, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Agathokles Dikaios. Circa 185-175 BC. AR Tetradrachm (33mm, 16.45 g, 12h). Commemorative issue struck for Antiochos III of Syria. ANTIOXOY to right, NIKATOPOΣ to left, diademedhead of Euthydemos right / BAΣIΛEONTOS to right, AΓAΘOKΛEOYΣ to left; DIKAIOY in exergue, Zeus Bremetes, seen from behind, advancing left, extended left arm draped with aegis, preparing to hurl thunderbolt in right hand; in inner left field, wreath above above eagle standing left; monogram to right. Bopearachchi 13A (this coin cited); Bopearachchi & Rahman 164; MPHB 121 (O21bis/R61 – this coin); SNG ANS –; MIG –; HGC 12, 87. Slight traces of deposits in devices, light porosity, slight double strike on obverse. EF. Very rare.

Ex Mr. K.-D. Walkhoff-Jordan Collection (Triton II, 1 December 1998), lot 590; Numismatic Fine Arts XXV (29 November 1990), lot 228.

The attribution of the individual on this tetradrachm, one of the series of pedigree issues struck by Agathokles, has been the subject of much discussion. Based on his own coinage, the portrait here is that of Euthydemos I. The legend – ANTIOXOY NIKATOPOΣ – suggests one of the early Seleukid kings of that name, and attempts have been made to associate the Antiochos on this tetradrachm with Antiochos II, who is named on the issues of Diodotos I. Jens Jakobsson ("Antiochus Nicator, the Third King of Baktria?", NC 170 [2010], p. 25), while rightly arguing against Antiochos II as the person commemorated, offered no alternative. Brian Kritt, who recently has revisited the issue (New Discoveries in Bactrian Numismatics, Chapter 5), convincingly suggests Antiochos III as the mostly likely candidate. Antiochos III, whose historical epithet is Megas (the Great), conducted a vigorous series of campaigns in the East, including the subjugation of the Parthians, his victories in Bactria, including the capture of Aï Khanoum, and his subsequent campaigning in India (p. 80). Like Alexander before him (who also figures in the pedigree series), Antiochos would have been a figure worthy of emulation by Agathokles and with whom he would wish to be associated.

The final winners of all Triton XXVII lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 9-10 January 2024.

Triton XXVII – Session Two – Lot 338–647 will be held Tuesday afternoon, 9 January 2024 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.