Following his father's death, Seleucus VI declared himself king and took the city of Seleucia on the Calycadnus in western Cilicia as his base, while his brother Demetrius III took Damascus. The volume of coins minted by the new king in Seleucia on the Calycadnus surpassed any other mint known from the late Seleucid period, and most of the coins were produced during his preparations for war against Antiochus IX, a conflict that would end in the year 96/95 BC (217 SE (Seleucid year)). This led the numismatist Arthur Houghton to suggest an earlier death for Antiochus VIII and a longer reign for Seleucus VI beginning in 98 or 97BC instead of 96BC. The numismatist Oliver D. Hoover contested Houghton's hypothesis, as it was not rare for a king to double his production in a single year at times of need, and the academic consensus prefers the year 96BC for the death of Antiochus VIII.
Following his father's death, Seleucus VI declared himself king and took the city of Seleucia on the Calycadnus in western Cilicia as his base, while his brother Demetrius III took Damascus. The volume of coins minted by the new king in Seleucia on the Calycadnus surpassed any other mint known from the late Seleucid period, and most of the coins were produced during his preparations for war against Antiochus IX, a conflict that would end in the year 96/95 BC (217 SE (Seleucid year)). This led the numismatist Arthur Houghton to suggest an earlier death for Antiochus VIII and a longer reign for Seleucus VI beginning in 98 or 97BC instead of 96BC. The numismatist Oliver D. Hoover contested Houghton's hypothesis, as it was not rare for a king to double his production in a single year at times of need, and the academic consensus prefers the year 96BC for the death of Antiochus VIII.