TRITON III Extremely Rare Alexander & Cleopatra Marriage Tetradrachm
611. A l e x a n d e r I Balas. 150-145 BC. AR Tetradrachm (14.09 gm). Tyre mint. Year 167 (146/145 BC). Diademed head right / ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ, eagle standing left on prow, palm behind right shoulder; club s u r m o u n t e d by ¥ to left, 1ΞΡ and monogram right. Newell, "The Seleucid Coinages of Tyre," ANSNNM 73 (1936), 79; Houghton 749 (same obverse die); SNG Spaer 1545 (same obverse die). EF. ($500)
610. Alexander I Balas and Cleopatra T h e a . 150-145 BC. AR Tetradrachm (16.21 gm). Seleucia Pieria mint. Struck 150 BC. Conjoined busts right of Cleopatra, veiled, wearing d i a d e m and kalathos, and Antiochos, d i a d e m e d ; A a n d cornucopiae behind / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ right, ΘΕ-ΟΠΑΤΟΡ|ΟΣ ΕΥ]ΕΡΓΕΤΟΥ left, Zeus seated left, holding Nike, who stands facing holding a thunderbolt, in right hand, lotus tipped sceptre in left. Houghton 407; H o u g h t o n , "The Double Portrait Coins of Alexander I Balas and Cleopatra Thea," in SNR 67 (1988), 4 ( A 1 / P 2 - this coin); SNG Spaer 1483; SNG Copenhagen 267; Boston MFA Supplement, 280 (same dies). Lightly toned VF. Extremely Rare, only 19 specimens known! ($7500)
612. D e m e t r i o s II. First Reign. 145-140 BC. AR Tetradrachm (16.32 gm). Seleukeia on Tigris mint. Diademed head of Demetrios right / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ right, ΦΙΛΑΔΕ-ΛΦΟΥ |Ν1!ΚΑΤΟΡΟΣ left, Tyche seated left holding baton and cornucopiae, Nereid supporting throne; A in exergue. H o u g h t o n 1010; SNG Spaer 1752; Le Rider, Suse, pi. ΧΧΙΧ, S. Lightly toned, near EF. Youthful portrait of Demetrios. ($750) Ex Bonhams/Vecchi Auction 8 (11-12 October 1982), lot 393.
Year 162 in the Seleukid Era (151-150 BC) was a turbulent period in Seleukid history. A Seleukid pretender, Alexander Balas, had come on the scene, and with the help of Attalos II of Pergamum, Ariarathes V of Cappadocia, Ptolemy VI and the Roman Senate, arrived in Ake-Ptolemais, probably early in the spring of 150 BC, to lay claim to the Seleukid throne. Within months he won a decisive military victory over Demetrios 1 who was killed in battle. Phoenicia and Southern Syria had been in Seleukid control for over 50 years. With the defeat of Demetrios, this disputed territory that separated the Seleukids and Ptolemies was ηοτυ in the hand of an Egyptian ally. To cement the alliance between the two empires, Ptolemy VI offered his daughter in marriage, Cleopatra Thea, to Alexander Balas. This tetradrachm commemorated their marriage and can probably be dated immediately after their arrival at Seleucia. The iconography of Cleopatra as Tyche may be a response to the numismatic propaganda of Demetrios I claiming Tyche as his personal patroness.
Tryphon, A Short Lived Usurper
In his article on the series, Arthur Houghton recorded only 19 known specimens, of which 5 were in Museums. 613. Tryphon. 142-138 BC. AR Tetradrachm (16.76 gm). Antioch mint. D i a d e m e d h e a d right / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΤΡΥΦΩΝΟΣ right, ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΟΡΟΣ left, Macedonian cavalry helmet with ibex horn, thunderbolt on cheek guard; W left, *Ή below; all within oak wreath. Newell, SMA -; H o u g h t o n 257 var. (ΑΓ instead of *H); SNG Spaer -; Seyrig, "Notes on Syrian Coins," ANSMN 119,17 var. (ΔΙ, same obverse die). Lightly toned, good VF. Very rare, choice portrait of this shortlived usurper. ($2500) Ex Classical Numismatic Auctions 25 (24 March 1993), lot 384.
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