(BC 282-263) Philetairos I - Tetradrachm

Philetairos I, 282-263 BC. AR Tetradrachm (16.85g). Diademed head of Philetairos right / ΦΙΛΕΤΑΙΡΟΥ, Athena enthroned left, holding shield and spear, left elbow resting on sphinx, ivy leaf above knee, A on throne, bow to outer right. Good VF, scattered light porosity, more so on the reverse. Rare.

Westermark attributed this issue to Eumenes I. However, a more recent analysis of hoard evidence has indicated that this coinage is actually struck during the lifetime of Philetairos, near the end of his reign, following the limited issue of tetradrachms bearing the portrait of Seleukos I. A. Davesne, G. Le Rider, Gulnar II. Le tresor de Meydancikkale (Paris, 1989), cf. pp. 334-339.