Extremely Rare Drachm of Ariarathes VI

Sale: CNG 75, Lot: 451. Estimate $2000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 23 May 2007.  Sold For $1400. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of CAPPADOCIA. Ariarathes VI Epiphanes Philopator. Circa 130-112/0 BC. AR Drachm (4.08 g, 12h). Uncertain mint. Draped bust right, wearing tiara adorned with two (Pontic) stars / Athena seated left, holding laurel wreath in extended right hand, left arm resting on shield set on ground, spear behind; at feet, dog(?) standing left, head right. Simonetta p. 32, 1 (Ariarathes VI); Arslan, "The Cappadocian King Ariarathes VI and the Star on the Tiara," The Celator 17/3 (March 2003), fig. 6; SNG Copenhagen -; BMC -; SNG von Aulock -. VF, toned, porous, scuff in field on obverse. Extremely rare, perhaps the third known.

The Cappadocian coins with the king wearing a tiara comprise an extremely rare group of issues attributable to two different kings, Ariarathes IV and Ariarathes VI. Arslan argues convincingly that the presence of the star(s) on the tiara is the key to attribute them. This star, traditionally known as the "Pontic star", originally appeared in the region on the coins of the Pontic king Mithradates II (296-260 BC). When Ariarathes V was murdered, his wife, Nysa, ruled jointly with their son Ariarathes VI for a brief period. Nysa was the daughter of the Pontic king Mithradates V, and her very rare drachms feature the jugate busts of the joint rulers, with Ariarathes VI wearing a tiara adorned, for the first time in Cappadocian coinage, with the Pontic star. Contemporary with this coinage, Pontic stars began appearing in the coinage of kingdoms throughout the region. Arslan concludes that the coinage without the star are attributable to Ariarathes IV, while those with the star belong to Ariarathes VI. This conclusion is also supported by the portraiture on the respective coinages. Arslan notes that Cappadocian portraits are fairly consistent within each reign, and those without the star closely resemble the portraits of Ariarathes IV while those with the star closely resemble Ariarathes VI.