Greece/Seleucid; Antiochus III BCE 222-187

AR Drachm, 18 mm, 4.21 g, Soli mint BCE 197-187

SC 1023.1, WSM 1283 (same dies), HSC 452a (R2), CSE 514 (this coin), CSE II, 230 (same dies)


cf. Houghton, A. "The Royal Seleucid Mint of Soli" NC 1989, page 16. This coin noted as #5 from Series I, Group A of which there are three examples listed in Drachm denomination.  #4 appears to be CSE II, 230 now, #5 is as noted, and #6  is Newell's example at the ANS.


O: diad. hd in advanced middle age, diad ends falling straight behind.
R: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ [A]NTIOXOY, Apollo slight drapery on r thigh, std l, on omphalos, testing arrow and resting l hand on grounded bow.  controls on outer r and l. 

EX: Arthur Houghton Collection CSE 514


EX:  WKR Collection

Greece/Seleucid; Antiochus IV Epiphanes BCE 175-164

AE 15 mm, 1.74 g., Tyre mint BCE 175-c. 168

SC 1470, Handbook of Syrian Coins 724 (S-R1)

O: diad hd of king r., one diadem end flying up behind, the other falling forward over shoulder, dotted border.

R: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ (curving) on r., ANTIOXOY (curving) on l. palm tree, dotted border.  No Controls. 

Greece/Seleucid; Antiochus IV Epiphanes BCE 175-164

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AE 21 mm, 6.56 g, 12h, Byblos mint BCE 168-164

SC 1444.1, Handbook of Syrian Coins  663 (R2)

O: radiate diad hd of king r., one diadem end flying up behind, the other falling forward over shoulder, dotted border.

R: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ (curving) on r., ANTIOXOY (curving) on l. in Phoenician across upper field “L’Gebal” (of Gebal) in ex., “Qdsh” (the holy), six winged Kronos-El stg l., holding was-sceptre, dotted border.

Palestinians find ancient coin hoard in Gaza

GAZA CITY — The Hamas-run ministry of tourism and antiquities in Gaza on Monday announced the discovery of ancient artifacts near the Egyptian border town of Rafah.

"The most important of the findings are 1,300 antique silver coins, both large and small," said Mohammed al-Agha, tourism and antiquities minister in the Islamist-run government.

He said archaeologists had also uncovered a black basalt grinder, a coin with a cross etched on it, and the remains of walls and arches believed to have been built in 320 BC.

They also discovered a "mysterious" underground compartment with a blocked entrance that appeared to be a tomb, Agha said.

(for the remainder of the article, please check the link below)

The coins appear to be 4th cent. BCE Gazan copies of Athenian Owls from the photo provided....to be updated with additional postings....

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved (photo AFP also)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jRXo1fCXa2CmsXDPI_VJTdvsYaQw

link:

New General Text for Seleucid Coins

http://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=155643

Click the link to go to the CNG page to see a fuller write up regarding this text and to order it if you are interested. I received it a couple weeks ago and find it a good addition to the study particularly in rating the respective rarity (C, S, R1, R2, R3--cf. the June 2008 Celator article by Arthur Houghton and David Hendin if you are interested, though Houghton's portion of the article is reprinted in this text) of the issues described. Granted, this is a general study linked to SC numbers and therefore the text does not describe the rarity of a particular subtype for a common issue for example. There are a few typos such as the mix up of numbers for the bronzes of Timarchus, but overall these are just a distraction from the overall value of the book. A separate website with the catalog number linked value ranges for the described coins is an improvement over now dated catalogues such as Sear's GCV and promises to provide regular updates that should keep this text updated for the forseeable future. I did note that a couple values appear to be in error (specifically a bronze of Antiochus VI for example) but these can be easily corrected in future updates (#1054 in the catalogue =SC 2025 is listed as being $400-$600 in the lowest condition when it should likely be $40-$60 and $3000-$5000 in the best condition when that should likely be $300-$500).