CNG 90, Lot: 757. Estimate $500. Sold for $715. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

UNCERTAIN EAST. Circa 320s-300 BC. AR Tetradrachm (21mm, 16.26 g, 12h). Baaltars seated left, holding grape bunch on vine / Lion advancing left; Δ above. Apparently unpublished. Near VF, toned. Extremely rare.

After Alexander’s conquest of Persia, Mazaios was appointed satrap in Babylonia, and was allowed to strike Baal/Lion staters in his name. His issues constituted a local coinage that was primarily for use in Babylonia. Following his death in 328 BC, there was a break in the issuance of this coinage, but it was soon resumed a few years later, albeit without any satrap’s name and with the addition of letters or symbols in the fields. This restored coinage lasted until the time of Seleukos I, or even until the time of his son, Antiochos I. All of these coins follow a static iconography, where Baal holds a scepter in one hand, and places the other on his seat. They also have a very consistent style and fabric. At the same time, there are recognized imitations of this coinage, characterized by a somewhat cruder style and slight variances in the iconography. These coins, though, do retain the weight standard, thick flans, and rudimentary control marks of the resumed ‘official’ series. It is thought that these issues might have been local imitations that were begun during the hiatus of the ‘official’ series, by which time some commerce may have depended on their availability. The present coin falls within this group.