2nd-1st centuries BCE
Æ Chalkous 13mm 2.0g
Female head right /
Reed; ΠΥ left, monogram right
SNG Levante 699 var; SNG von Aulock 5815 var
This coin agonized me for some time. I went all over the place in attributing it, from at first thinking Tyre to then the very first coin from Straton’s Tower (later Caesaria Maritima). However, while perusing an auction one day I had the answer – Seleukeia ad Kalykadnon. Although Kalydadnon’s coinage isn’t rare, this particular issue is.
This particular Seleukeia was founded by Seleukos I Nikator and named after himself. He had a large collection of cities and it must have been fun in those days to differentiate them. You wonder how many people and things wound up in the wrong place. The city eventually grew to consume nearby Holmoi.
circa 200-0 BCE
Æ 17 mm, 3,58 g
Laureate head of Apollo right, ΣA behind /
ΣEΛEΥKEΩN TΩN ΠΡOΣ TΩI KAΛΥKAΔNΩI; forepart of horse leaping right, [AΘH ?] above, ΑΘH below
SNG Lev. 692
Eventually Seleukeia ad Kalydadnon grew to be among the grandest cities in Cilicia, and even rivaled Tarsos.
Approximate foundation of Seleukeia ad Kalykadnon. The inhabitants of Holmoi migrate there.
A stone bridge is built by L. Octavius Memor at Seleukeia ad Kalykadnon.
Isaura becomes an independent state with Seleukeia ad Kalykadnon as its capital.
Constantius Gallus raises a siege of Seleukia ad Kalykadnon by troops loyal to Shapur.