Ascalon (Antiochus VIII), silver, tetradrachms (Antiochus VIII/eagle on thunderbolt) (121-96 BCE)
From SILVER
121 BCE - 96 BCE Silver 40,673 kg
Description
| Obverse: | Diademed and draped bust of Antiochos VIII to right |
| Reverse: | ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ - ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟY (Greek).Eagle, wings closed, standing left, behind, palm frond, in field to left, AΣ / IEP / AZY above dove standing left above aphlaston, to right, LςΣ, between the eagle's legs, monogram of HP |
Mint and issuing power
| Mint: | Ascalon | Ancient region: | Phoenicia | Modern country: Israel | Authority: | Antiochus VIII Grypus (Seleucid king, 121/0-97/6 BC), Seleucid Dynasty (312-63 BC) |
Chronology
| From | 121 BCE | to | 96 BCE | Period: Hellenistic 323-30 BC |
Physical description
| Metal: | Silver |
Median weight in grams | 14.10 | Denomination: | tetradrachm |
Standard: | Ptolemaic |
Image

References
| Die study reference: | "[[Die study reference" contains a listed "[" character as part of the property label and has therefore been classified as invalid.]]1Voulgaridis 2000, p. 326-333 | ||
| Coin series reference: | "[[Coin series reference" contains a listed "[" character as part of the property label and has therefore been classified as invalid.]]2CSE, n° 826, "[[Coin series reference" contains a listed "[" character as part of the property label and has therefore been classified as invalid.]]3HGC 9, n° 1203, "[[Coin series reference" contains a listed "[" character as part of the property label and has therefore been classified as invalid.]]4SC II, n° 2337-2340 | ||
| Coin series web reference: | |||
Obverse dies distribution
| Frequency ᵖ | Number of obverses ᵖ (o) | % (o) | Number of coins (n) | % (n) | Die name |
| 1 | 40 | 66.67 | 40 | 44.44 | 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 17, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60 |
| 2 | 13 | 21.67 | 26 | 28.89 | 2, 10, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 31, 33, 38, 48, 49, 50 |
| 3 | 5 | 8.33 | 15 | 16.67 | 14, 15, 16, 45, 55 |
| 4 | 1 | 1.67 | 4 | 4.44 | 27 |
| 5 | 1 | 1.67 | 5 | 5.56 | 1 |
| Total | 60 of 60 | 100.01 | 90 of 90 | 100 |
Reverse dies distribution
no distribution is available
Quantification
| Number of obverses ᵖ (o) | 60 | Number of singletons (o1) ᵖ | 40 |
| Number of reverse dies (r) | 81 | Number of coins (n) | 90 |
| Coins per obverse die (n/o) | 1.5 | Coins per reverse die (n/r) | 1.11 |
| Reverse per obverse ratio (r/o) | 1.35 | Percentage of singletons (o1) ᵖ | 66.67 % |
| Original number of dies (O) (Carter 1983 formula) ᵖ | 144.23 | Coins struck if 20,000 as average productivity per die ᵖ | 2,884,600 |
| Original number of dies (O) (Esty 2011 formula) ᵖ (O) | 180 | Survival rate if 20,000 as average productivity per die ᵖ | 0.00003 |
| Coverage (o = % of O) (Esty 1984 formula) ᵖ (o = % of O) | 55.56% | Die productivity if survival rate 1/2,000 ᵖ | 1,248.01 |
| Weight of silver (in kg) if 20,000 coins per die (O = Carter formula) ᵖ | 40,673 kg <br /> 40,673 kg | Die productivity if survival rate 1/5,000 ᵖ | 3,120.02 |
Remarks
Likely military
There is also 4 didrachms struck with the same pair of dies (p. 330: DI-RI)
References
- ^ Voulgaridis, Georges (2000), Les ateliers monetaires de ptolemais-'Akko et d'Ascalon sous la domination seleucide, unpublished doctoral dissertation, Marc Bloch University, Strasbourg, 2 vol., 448 p., 37 pl.
- ^ Houghton, Arthur (1983), Coins of the Seleucid Empire from the collection of Arthur Houghton, Ancient Coins in North American Collections 4, New York, xiv, 122 p., 2 fold. charts, 77 pls.
- ^ Hoover, Oliver D. (2009), Handbook of ancient Syrian coins : royal and civic issues, fourth to first centuries BC, The Handbook of Greek Coinage 9, Lancaster, lxix, 332 p.
- ^ Houghton, Arthur - Lorber, Catharine C. - Hoover, Oliver D. (2008), Seleucid coins : a comprehensive catalogue. Part 2, Seleucus IV through Antiochus XIII, 2 v., New York - Lancaster - London, (xxx), 120 p. of plates : ill., maps, tables