CRUCIFIER COLLECTION

150-149 BC, AE20, APAMEA

ALEXANDER I BALAS

HD OF ALEXANDER R,

ZEUS STG L, HOLDS HELMET, LONG SEPTURE L HAND

XF - EXTRA Fine

RARE XF Alexander I Balas AE 20 Ancient Greek Coin 150 BC Apamea Zeus Countermark 

AUTHENTIC ANCIENT SELEUCID KINGDOM BRONZE – CIVIC ISSUE OF APAMEA 

 * Issuer: Seleucid Empire, King Alexander I Balas (Reigned 150–145 BC) 

* Mint: Apamea on the Orontes (Quasi-Municipal Civic Stamping) 

* Date: Struck circa 150–149 BC (Dated Year 163 of the Seleucid Era) 

* Denomination: AE 20 Unit (4 Chalkoi) 

* Weight: ~2.2 grams (Scarce lightweight/thin planchet variety) 

* Grade: Extremely Fine / Extra Fine (XF) – An elite, high-grade museum specimen. Exceptional hair detail on the portrait, a perfectly preserved reverse Zeus holding a detailed helmet, crisp legends, and an attractive, stable dark patina. 

 ⭐⭐ RARE HIGH GRADE WITH HISTORIC PALM BRANCH COUNTERMARK ⭐⭐ 

While Seleucid bronze coins are well-documented in heavily worn conditions, finding a specimen in an uncompromised EXTRA FINE (XF) grade is an absolute numismatic rarity. This coin features a prominent, highly historic official countermark (CTMK) depicting a Palm Branch, stamped into the coin by civic authorities to re-validate currency during the turbulent dynastic civil wars. A true investment-grade showpiece. 

 MAGNIFICENT CIVIC SYMBOLISM: 

* Obverse: Crisp, beautifully styled diademed head of King Alexander I Balas facing right. 

 * Reverse: Zeus standing left, holding a crested Corinthian combat helmet out in his right hand and resting his left hand on a long, majestic sceptre. 

* Legends & Monograms: Struck with the clear, complete civic name ΑΠΑΜΕΩΝ ("Of the Apameans"). Shows the crisp vertical date letters ΓΞΡ (Year 163 = 150/149 BC) alongside the active moneyer monograms in the left fields. 

* References: SC 1804; HGC 9, 904; SNG Spaer 1490-1494; DCA 133. 

 WHY ADD THIS TO YOUR COLLECTION? Alexander I Balas was an adventurous king who claimed the Seleucid throne by pretending to be the lost son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, gaining the military backing of Rome, Egypt, and Pergamum. This coin was minted right at Apamea, the strategic military headquarters and elephant-training center of the Seleucid Empire. Struck over 2,100 years ago, it captures the raw history of the Hellenistic kingdoms as they slid into intense civil warfare and eventual Roman dominance.

SEE HARD CARD PHOTO FOR RESEARCHED INFORMATION, SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATION & AND CATALOGED REFERENCES. 

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