201, Lot: 138. Estimate $150. Sold for $370. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

SELEUKID KINGS of SYRIA. Antiochos IV Epiphanes. 175-164 BC. AR Drachm (16mm, 4.11 g, 12h). Antioch mint. Posthumous issue, struck 146/5 BC. Diademed head right / Apollo seated left on omphalos, testing arrow, resting hand on bow. SC 1886. Good VF, nice metal, a few deposits. Rare.

In the final year of Alexander I Balas' reign, Demetrios II Nikator, seeking to avenge the death of his father, Demetrios I Soter, advanced on Alexander from Cilicia, supported by troops of Ptolemy VI of Egypt that advanced from Palestine. Alexander fled from Antioch to rally his forces at a chosen location to the east. Between this time and the arrival of Demetrios' forces, Antioch struck a very short series of tetradrachms and drachms in the name of Antiochos IV. A number of the tetradrachms are dated, confirming this chronology. Although the drachms are undated, they also carry the three-line legend and "older" portrait style of the tetradrachms, both of which are not found in the lifetime issues of Antiochos. While the chronology is certain, the purpose of the issue remains unknown.