DEMETRIUS II SILVER TETRADRACHM – ISSUE OF ANTIOCH ON THE ORONTES – CHOICE VF NGC GRADED GREEK SELEUCID KINGDOM COIN (Inv. 19810)

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19810. SELEUCID KINGDOM. DEMETRIUS II, 129–125 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm, 16.49 g, 29 mm. Issue of Antioch on the Orontes, 129–128 BC.
Obv. Diademed and bearded head of Demetrius II. Rev. BAΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔHMHTPIOY ΘEOY NIKATOPOΣ, Zeus enthroned left, holding Nike, Ξ in outer left field, Δ below throne.
SC 2166.2a; HGC 9, 1117b.
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5, with a great portrait of the king.

This coin was struck immediately after the return of Demetrius II to Antioch following years of living in distant Hyrcania as an honored captive of the Parthian kings Mithradates I and Phraates II. As Demetrius’ brother, Antiochus VII Sidetes, mounted a great but doomed campaign against the Parthians in 129 BC, Phraates II released Demetrius to create chaos in Antiochus’ rear. Demetrius II briefly reclaimed the Syrian capital, but his coins struck there and at other cities reveal that his captivity had changed him. His hairstyle and beard may reveal the influence of Parthian culture on the restored king while the stubby horn depicted at his temple hints at megalomania and deification. After all, his personal epithet declared him to be Theos Nikator (“the Victorious God”).