Seleucid Philip I Philadelphos AR Tetradrachm Antioch 95–75 BC

Philip I Philadelphos, tetradrachm, silver; reign 95–75 BC, struck at Antioch on the Orontes, 95–75 BC; 15.85 g; 27.5 mm. Anepigraphic obverse with diademed bust of the king right. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΦIΛIΠΠΟΥ EΠIΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΦIΛAΔEΛΦΟΥ; Zeus Nikephoros seated left on backless throne, holding Nike and vertical scepter; control mark in outer left field; monogram below throne; all within laurel wreath. Struck on the Attic standard, die axis 12h. Seleucid Empire issue; obverse die-match to Triskeles Auction 30 (2019), lot 95. References: SC 2463.2a; HGC 9, 1319.

Historical significance: Philip I, a son of Antiochus VIII, ruled part of Syria during the late Seleucid civil wars, when the dynasty fragmented among competing brothers. Antioch remained the chief mint for royal silver, and the Zeus Nikephoros type continued long-standing Seleucid iconography of royal legitimacy and victory. These tetradrachms represent the final phase of Seleucid royal coinage at Antioch before the city passed under the control of Tigranes II of Armenia and, later, Rome.