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Search Advanced Search Search By Coin ID     Home ANCIENT/BYZANTINE Ancient Spain (872) Byzantine (753) MEDIEVAL/EARLY WORLD Germany (30) MODERN WORLD COUNTERFEITS AND IMITATIONS   Submit New Coin(s)   Sponsors page Terms of Service Contact Us About Us FAQ Page Coin Detail Click here to see enlarged image. ID:     720853      [UNVERIFIED] Type:     Greek Region:     SELEUCID KINGDOM Issuer:     Seleucus I Nicator Date Ruled:     312-281 BC Metal:     Silver Denomination:     Tetradrachm Date Struck:     BC circa 282-281 Weight:     17.16 g Die Axis:     12 h Obverse Description:     Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin Reverse Description:     Zeus Nikephoros seated left; monogram on shield in left field, AS below throne Primary Reference:     SC 3.1 Photograph Credit:     Classical Numismatic Group Source:     http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=84621 Grade:     EF. Notes:     Sale: CNG 72, Lot: 853 The Seleukid Empire was one of the main successor states to the Macedonian empire forged by Alexander III 'the Great'. Following Alexander's death, his greatest generals, the Diadochs, divided the empire among themselves, but the settlement was not enduring and nearly constant warfare resulted from their ambitions to widen their respective areas of control. Seleukos I, despite being passed over in the initial settlement in 323 BC, received the satrapy of Babylon in the second settlement in 320 BC. By the time of his death in 281 BC, Seleukos had expanded his realm to encompass most of Alexander's eastern possessions from Asia Minor to Baktria.As with most of the other diadochs, Seleukos continued to strike coins in the name of Alexander and he opened a number of new mints to serve his various campaigns and his growing empire. Shortly after assuming the royal title in 305 BC, Seleukos began issuing coinage in his own name, and introduced a variety of new types that propagated the mythology of his new dynasty and celebrated his considerable accomplishments. Over the century following Seleukos' death, though, the vast size of the empire proved unmanageable, and a number of local irredentist movements resulted in a growing number of breakaway regions, many of which also struck their own coinage. Internecine struggles, in conjunction with the growing power of Rome, were ultimately responsible for the final dissolution of the Seleukid empire in 64 BC. Over its nearly 250 years of existence, the Seleukid empire issued a vast quantity of coinage that was arguably the most diverse of all the Hellenistic kingdoms.

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