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Search Advanced Search Search By Coin ID     Home ANCIENT/BYZANTINE Ancient Spain (872) Byzantine (753) MEDIEVAL/EARLY WORLD Germany (30) MODERN WORLD COUNTERFEITS AND IMITATIONS   Submit New Coin(s)   Sponsors page Terms of Service Contact Us About Us FAQ Page Coin Detail Click here to see enlarged image. ID:     750847      [UNVERIFIED] Type:     Ancient East Region:     PERSIA City:     Alexandrine Empire Issuer:     Uncertain Satraps of Babylon Date Ruled:     Circa 322-320 BC Metal:     Silver Denomination:     Double Shekel Date Struck:     BC under Perdikkas (for Philip III), circa 323-320 Diameter:     24 mm Weight:     17.14 g Die Axis:     6 h Obverse Description:     Baal seated left, holding sceptre in right hand; M before Reverse Description:     Lion walking left; monogram above, S in exergue Mint:     Babylon Primary Reference:     Nicolet-Pierre pg. 293, 11 var. (letter in exergue) Reference2:     MIG - Reference3:     Babelon, Perses - Reference4:     BMC Arabia -; TraitÉ -; SNG Cop - Photograph Credit:     Classical Numismatic Group Source:     http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=61147 Grade:     EF, toned Notes:     Exceptional for type. Nicolet-Pierre records 7 varieties of this type with the M on the obverse and monogram on the reverse, none with the letter S in the exergue. He records varieties with D, H, Q, N, X, P, and T. In their work on the Selekid Empire, SC, Houghton and Lorber noted that these Baal/Lion types continued to be issued under Seleukos I at Babylon, a fact primarily established through the multiple control mark linkage between these and the Alexandrian-type coinage Seleukos struck there. The markings on this particular issue, though, do not belong to this period, but are found on Babylon Tetradrachms of Philip III (Price P186a), which are datable to the period immediately following the death of Alexander the Great.Upon finishing his expeditions to the outer limits of Asia Minor, Alexander the Great led his army westward late in 331 BC. The metropolis of Babylon was surrendered by its satrap, Mazaeus, whom Alexander rewarded with the local governorship. Alexander made Babylon his royal seat, and there established one of his most important mints, from which a large quantity of regular ‘Alexandrine’ or 'imperial' coinages were struck, including the impressive dekadrachms of circa 327/6 BC. In addition to the ‘imperial' coinages, Babylon also produced a substantial group of local coinages, some of which initially bore the name of Mazaeus, but which continued without the name of a satrap after his death in 328 B.C.Both main types of this local Babylonian coinage are represented here. Gold was struck in the form of double-darics (lot 363) and darics modeled after the familiar darics of the pre-Alexandrine Persian world. The obverse was borrowed directly from the old Persian darics, though sometimes control marks appear in the fields. The reverse retained the general form of an oblong incuse, but were decorated with geometric patterns generally in the form of wavy stripes. Houghton and Lorber suggest the gold coinage ceased circa 300/298 BC under Seleukos I, and was replaced by a brief issue bearing the head of Alexander in an elephant’s scalp on the obverse and a standing Nike on the reverse. Silver is represented by ‘lion staters’ (lot 364) and at least three smaller denominations, all bearing a seated Baal on the obverse and a standing lion on the reverse. The staters initially were struck to the weight of the Attic tetradrachm, but eventually were reduced to the lighter Persic standard of the Babylonian shekel. Though initiated under Mazaeus, both the gold and the silver coinages were produced for decades, with the final silver coins probably being struck circa 288/7 BC under Seleukos I.

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