Ancient Greek Silver Coin of King Antiochus VI Dionysus (Young Ruler of the Seleucid Empire)

Own a Near-Mint Silver Coin Struck in the Name of a Child King Who Would Be Dead Within Two Years

A real Seleucid silver tetradrachm of Antiochus VI — struck at Antioch in 144/3 BC in the name of a child ruler who was the puppet of a general plotting to seize the empire for himself. NGC certified About Uncirculated, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5.

$2,925.00

✓ NGC Certified
✓ Guaranteed Authentic
✓ 30-Day Returns

👑 Obverse features the idealized portrait of young Antiochus VI — a child king whose reign lasted barely two years before his suspicious death
🐴 Reverse depicts the Dioscuri on horseback — Castor and Pollux as divine protectors of a dynasty fracturing under rival ambitions
🥇 NGC About Uncirculated — Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5 — exceptional quality from the Antioch mint, Seleucid Era year 169

Own This Piece of History

Why This Coin Matters

By 144 BC, the Seleucid Empire — once the largest of Alexander's successor kingdoms, stretching from Anatolia to the borders of India — was consuming itself. Rival claimants contested the throne, generals commanded armies that answered to personal ambition rather than royal authority, and the eastern provinces were slipping away to Parthian conquest. Into this chaos stepped General Diodotus Tryphon, who produced a child — Antiochus VI, young son of the recently deposed Demetrius II — and proclaimed him king, placing the imperial crown on a boy's head while keeping real power firmly in his own hands.

The coins struck in Antiochus VI's name are among the most poignant in the entire Seleucid series. The obverse carries the idealized portrait of a young child — features soft and unformed, the face of someone too young to understand what was being done in his name. The reverse shows the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, the divine twin protectors — an appeal to heavenly guardianship for a king who had none in the earthly world. Within approximately two years, Antiochus VI was dead — almost certainly murdered by Tryphon, who then claimed the throne for himself.

This tetradrachm was struck at the Antioch mint — the Seleucid capital in modern Turkey — in Seleucid Era year 169 (144/3 BC), during the brief window of Antiochus VI's nominal reign. Graded NGC About Uncirculated with Strike 5/5 and Surface 4/5, it preserves the full sharpness and silver brilliance of a coin that saw minimal circulation — the face of a doomed child-king captured at the height of the die-cutter's art, in one of the finest quality examples of this historically charged type.

Perfect for:

• Serious collectors of Seleucid, Hellenistic, and late Greek imperial silver coinage
• History lovers drawn to dynastic intrigue, child rulers, and the fall of the Seleucid Empire
• High-grade NGC tetradrachm and Antioch mint enthusiasts
• Anyone seeking a rare, near-mint quality centerpiece with one of the most dramatic stories in ancient numismatics

What You'll Receive

• One authentic Seleucid silver tetradrachm of Antiochus VI
• Denomination: AR Tetradrachm (4 drachms — major Seleucid silver)
• NGC certified — About Uncirculated (AU), Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5
• Mint: Antioch (modern Antakya, Turkey)
• Dated 144/3 BC — Seleucid Era year 169

Buy with Confidence

• Guaranteed authentic ancient coin
• Carefully sourced and verified
• 30-day return policy
• Secure shipping from the U.S.

New to Ancient Coins?

Start your journey here: kinzercoins.com/collections/im-new-to-ancient-coins