Antiochos VII Euergetes AR Tetradrachm Antioch Athena Nike SC 2061.2

Antiochos VII Euergetes, tetradrachm, silver, reign 138–129 BC, struck 138–129 BC at Antioch on the Orontes; 16.30 g, 30 mm. Anepigraphic obverse with diademed head of Antiochos VII right within a beaded border. Reverse: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ΕΥΕΡΓΕΤΟΥ; Athena standing left, holding Nike in right hand and resting left hand on grounded shield, spear in the crook of the arm; in left field, monogram above A; all within a laurel-wreath border. Struck on a broad flan with centering that preserves the wreath and field controls; Seleucid Empire. SC 2061.2; HGC 9, 1067d. Antiochos VII was the last Seleucid king to restore substantial territories, defeating the usurper Diodotos Tryphon and briefly recovering parts of Mesopotamia from the Parthians before his death in 129 BC ended the resurgence. The Antioch mint’s wreath-border tetradrachms with Athena Nike formed the principal silver currency of northern Syria during his reign, and their control marks (such as the A with monogram) document the mint’s administrative series and output.