SELEUKID KINGDOM
Demetrios I Soter, 162-150 BC 
AE17 Serrate. 3.73g, 17mm
MINTED: Antioch on the Orontes, 162-150 BC
REF: HGC 9, 833; SC 1646
OBVERSE: Head of horse to left.
REVERSE: Head of elephant to right; BAΣIΛEΩΣ/ΔHMHTPIOY below.
 
Notes:
Dark, greenish patina; some roughness and earthen deposits.  
Interesting serrated edge bronze, typical of those produced by the Seleukids during this period, sometimes referred to informally by collectors as "bottlecaps" because of their appearance. 
 
Historical Notes:
Demetrios, the eldest son of Seleukos IV, was living in Rome as a hostage when his father died in 175 BC.  A series of political intrigues on the part of the court finance minister Heliodorus and Demetrios's uncle Antiochos IV deprived him of his right to the throne for thirteen years, until he eventually managed to escape Rome and stage a return to his kingdom.  Hailed by the people, he immediately put to death his 10-year old cousin Antiochos V, who was ruling under the auspices of the Romans.  He ruled for 11 years, before being killed in battle against the forces of the young pretender Alexander Balas.  
 
In Jewish history, Demetrios is the notorious king who killed Judah Maccabee, the priest who had led the Jewish revolt against Seleukid rule and who had presided over the first Hanukkah, a celebration of the reconsecration of the Second Temple of Jerusalem in 164 BC.