Antiocheia (BC 150) Tetradrachm

ca 165-145 BC. AR Tetradrachm (26mm, 15.78g, 1h). Hermogenes, magistrate. Laureate head of Zeus right / EPMOΓENHΣ - ANTIOXEΩN, eagle, wings closed, standing left on a thunderbolt, being crowned by Nike flying left; all within maeander pattern. Apparently unpublished. Slightly rough, otherwise, gVF.

Aside from extreme rarity, what makes the Zeus-eagle tetradrachms of Antiochia ad Maeandrum especially interesting is that the eagle comes with differing attributes and symbols. The present and apparently unpublished piece shows an eagle that is crowned with a wreath by a small Nike flying behind it. Other types include an eagle with thyrsos (see lot 109 below, also unpublished), eagle with a cornucopiae (SNG von Aulock 2417) and plain eagle (Gorny & Mosch 207 (2012), 358). These varieties all appear to be unique to certain magistrates and therefore may represent yearly issues, but the connections between the symbols and the magistrates are yet to be understood.