Struck under Crassus

230, Lot: 226. Estimate $600. Sold for $950. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

SYRIA, Seleucis and Pieria. Antioch. Crassus. Roman proconsul, 55-53 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27mm, 13.92 g, 1h). Posthumous Philip I Philadelphos type. Diademed head of Philip right / Zeus Nikephoros seated left; monogram (of Crassus) to inner left, monogram below throne; all within wreath. RPC I 4125; McAlee 2; Prieur 2; HGC 9, 1357. VF, toned, heavy scratches on obverse. Rare.

The Romans revived the coinage of King Philip Philadelphos in the 50s BC under the proconsul Aulus Gabinius. Issues were minted with the monograms of Gabinius, Crassus, and Cassius, and then, circa 49/8 BC, the proconsul's monogram was replaced by one standing for either Antioch or ‘Autonomous’. This rare coin was struck under Crassus in the years leading up to the famous Battle of Carrhae, when Crassus was killed and the Roman army allowed legionary standards to be captured.