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Dichalkon - Antiochos I Ai Khanoum, Bactra, or Seleucia on the Tigris
| Issuer | Seleucid Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 281 BC - 261 BC |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Facing bust of Apollo rendered in the three-quarter view, set within a plain circular border. The deity is depicted youthful and unbearded, with flowing hair adorned with a laurel wreath, characteristic of early Seleucid royal iconography. The facial features are modelled in a Hellenistic style with soft, idealised contours. The field surrounding the effigy shows the irregular flan typical of hammered bronze coinage of the period. No legend appears on the obverse. |
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| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Antiochos I inherited a kingdom still settling after the chaos of the Diadochi wars, and these bronzes were struck across multiple mints — Ai Khanoum, Bactra, and Seleucia on the Tigris among the candidates — reflecting the administrative sprawl of a realm stretching from the Aegean to the edges of India. The attribution problem is genuine: scholars continue to debate which mint produced which varieties, and the SC1 references here span issues assigned to different production centers with overlapping characteristics.
Ai Khanoum, the easternmost candidate, was excavated by French archaeologists beginning in 1964 and remains the only confirmed Hellenistic city yet excavated in Afghanistan — destroyed by nomadic incursion around 145 BC, leaving a remarkable numismatic and architectural record.