A Mistake Finally Corrected

CNG 109, Lot: 261. Estimate $750. Sold for $1000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

SELEUKID EMPIRE. Antiochos III ‘the Great’. 222-187 BC. AR Drachm (15.5mm, 4.24 g, 1h). Apameia on the Orontes mint(?). Diademed head right / Elephant standing right; monograms above and in exergue. SC 1065.2 corr. (monogram variety not listed, but known); Houghton, Elephants 106 corr. (monogram; A4/P36); WSM p. 31, 631Aβ (same dies); HGC 9, 453a. Good VF, toned. Extremely rare, the second known with this monogram in exergue.

From the MNL Collection. Ex G. Hirsch 306 (12 February 2015), lot 1891; Gemini XI (12 January 2014), lot 266; Richard P. Miller Collection; Freeman & Sear 7 (22 February 2002), lot 151.

From the time of Newell’s WSM, the exergue monogram on this die has been misread, though he illustrated the Brussels example, which clearly showed a different monogram than he recorded for the two coins that he knew of for this issue. Although A. Houghton also did not notice the mistake when doing his die study, his work shows that the two monogram variations are part of the same issue, as they all share the same obverse die and upper monogram on the reverse. As such, SC 1065.2 should have two varieties, a and b, respectively, for each variation of the exergue monogram.