Silver Tetradrachm of King Antiochos VII

Obverse: Diademed head of Antiochos VII in left profile; pellet and reel border, surrounding
Reverse, ??S????OS ????????, right; ????G????, left; Athena standing left, holding Nike, spear and shield, centre; monograms, in field; all within laurel-wreath.

Antiochus VII came to the throne of the Seleucid Kingdom, a successor state of Alexander the Great in 138 BCE. He ruled with competence and integrity, unlike the later Seleukid monarchs. He died in battle against the Parthians in 129 BCE. The obverses of his coins customarily show the idealised portrait of a youthful, diademed king, in the fashion widely imitated by the successors of Alexander the Great. The reverse, depicting Athena, patron of Athens, holding Nike, goddess of victory is a deliberate iconographical link to the Athenian state.