1 Tetradrachm

Seleucid Empire, Antiochus VIII. (109-75 BC) AR Tetradrachm Coin. NGC AU!

Ruler: Antiochus VIII "Gryphus" 
Denomination: AR Tetradrachm
Mint Period: 116/115 BC (SE 197) 
Condition: Certified and graded by NGC as AU!
Reference: SC 2323.5a,  HGC 9/1196e, ZENO 271756. 
Weight: 16.45gm
Diameter: 31mm 
Material: Silver

Obverse: Diademed head of Antiochus VIII "Gryphus" (hook-nose!) right. Decorative border around.

Reverse: Zeus Ouranios, draped, standing left,  holding star and scepter. Two monograms to outer left, all within laurel wreath. Date in exergue.
Legends: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ / ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ
Exergue:  H9P

Antiochus VIII Epiphanes/Callinicus/Philometor, nicknamed Grypus (hook-nose), was crowned as ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom in 125 BC. He was the son of Demetrius II Nicator and Cleopatra Thea.

Either he or his half brother Antiochus IX Cyzicenus is probably identical with the ephemeral child ruler Antiochus Epiphanes, who was crowned by Cleopatra Thea after the death of Antiochus VII but before Demetrius II returned to   Antioch. The child Antiochus Epiphanes, who is known from coins, was   deposed—but not killed—when Demetrius II was restored in 129 BC.

Antiochus Grypus was crowned as a teenager in 125 BC after his mother Cleopatra Thea had killed his elder brother Seleucus V Philometor, ruling jointly with her. After Antiochus defeated usurper Alexander II Zabinas in 123 BC his mother tried to poison him with wine, but the suspicious   king forced her to drink the cup herself. (The story may have been   inspired by the fact that Grypus was interested in toxicology; some   poems about poisonous herbs believed to have been written by him are   quoted by the famous physician Galen).

Despite political shortcomings, Grypus was a popular king. His ugly,   lazy appearance on coins (common among the last Seleucids), together   with stories of his lavish banquets, made posterity believe his dynasty   was degenerated and decadent. This was however a conscious image, an   invocation of the Hellenistic idea Tryphe - meaning good life, which the last Seleucids strove to be associated   with, as opposed to the exhausting civil wars and feuds which troubled   their reigns in reality.

A story of his luxurious parties claims he sent food home with guests   who attended banquets, complete with a camel as beast of burden, as   well as a with attendant to carry the guest himself. This should   certainly have caused some strain on the already depleted treasury.