Demetrios II Nikator AR Tetradrachm, Tyre 144–143 BC, Eagle on prow

Demetrios II Nikator, Tetradrachm, silver, first reign 146–138 BC; Tyre, 144–143 BC; 16.50 g; 27 mm. Anepigraphic; diademed and draped bust of Demetrios II right. Reverse: ΒAΣIΛEΩΣ ΔHMHTPIOY; eagle with wings closed standing left on prow; palm frond behind; in left field, club surmounted by city monogram; in right field, ΘΞP above monogram; beaded border. Struck on a broad flan, obverse centered, reverse slightly off center with minor peripheral flatness; light grey tone. Ref.: Houghton & Lorber, Seleucid Coins 1959.3d.

Issued early in Demetrios II’s first reign after the fall of Alexander Balas, this Tyrian tetradrachm reflects Seleucid reliance on the wealthy Phoenician coast. The eagle on prow and palm are long-standing Tyrian civic types with Ptolemaic antecedents, while the club evokes the Herakles/Melqart cult of the city. The control marks and monograms identify a specific Tyrian series dated to 144–143 BC, a period marked by Demetrios’ contest with Diodotos Tryphon and the need to fund operations in the Levant.