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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III the Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Amphipolis Mint under AntipaterHead of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress.
AΛEΞANΔPOY Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; janiform head vase in left field. Graffiti in upper left field - Aramaic kaph (k) and sadhe (s).
Price 6; Troxell, Studies, Issue A3; SNG Cop 660; Muller 853.
Struck at Amphipolis in the period 332-329 BC.
(29 mm, 17.15 g, 2h)
This is one of the first emissions of Alexander’s coinage struck in his homeland, albeit about three years after he departed for Asia Minor. Recent scholarship places the start of Alexander’s distinctive coinage in 333/2 BC at Tarsos, in eastern Asia Minor, shortly after which the design was transferred to Macedonia where Alexander’s coinage was struck under the authority of his regent in Greece, Antipater. Die studies indicate that this coin was from the fourth tetradrachm emission of a mint in Macedonia, most probably Amphipolis. It was most probably struck in the period 332-329 BC. The Aramaic graffiti on the reverse, plus the obverse reverse rim test cut are pointers to the likelihood that this coin travelled beyond its location of issue in Macedonia, into the eastern Mediterranean where Aramaic was the main spoken language.n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - TarsosHead of young Herakles right in lion-skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, pellet above A beneath throne.
Price 2997; Newell Tarsos 8 (Newell’s Officina A, obverse die XXIV) pl. III, 6 (same obverse die); Muller 1292.
Tarsos mint 329/328 BC - dies from the Sidon and Tyre engraver.
(25 mm, 17.17 g, 1h).
Harlan J Berk Buy or Bid Sale 184, 7 May 2013, 55.
The dies from which this coin was struck are from the same engraver that cut the obverse dies for the first issues of Sidon and Tyre in the collection. The engraver was transferred to Tarsos from Tyre in 329 BC, thus dating this coin to 329/328 BC – refer Newell Tarsos under Alexander p. 80-81.n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Tarsos Head of young Herakles right in lion skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, pellet under throne. ΔI monogram graffiti before head of Zeus.
Price 2993; Newell Tarsos 3 (Newell’s Officina A, dies IX/25) pl. II, 2 (same dies); Muller 1291.
Tarsos mint 333/2 BC.
(26 mm, 17.18 g, 11h).
ex- Gorny & Mosch.
Newell catalogued forty examples of this type from six obverse and thirty reverse dies indicating a far more prolific issuance than the inaugural Tarsos 1 emission to which it is die linked by five examples struck with Tarsos obverse die III. All of the specimens of Tarsos 3 catalogued by Newell originated in the Demanhur Hoard. Price did not catalog any additional specimens to those noted by Newell in the British Museum Collection, which holds five specimens from the Newell Collection. n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Tarsos 333/2 BCHead of young Herakles right in lion-skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, pellet under throne.
Price 2990; Le Rider Pl. 1, 1 (same obverse die); Newell Tarsos 1 (Newell’s Officina A, dies III/5).
Tarsos mint 333/2 BC.
(25 mm, 17.22 g, 2h).
Gorny & Mosch.
This coin is from the first emission (Newell Tarsos 1) of Alexander tetradrachms from Tarsos, which is now understood to have been the mint from which Alexander the Great produced the first coins of what were to become his distinctive standard type. It comes from the third obverse die made for the type and dates to 333 BC, either immediately before or after the Battle of Issos, there being no certainty on this point. It is amongst the first Alexander tetradrachms to be struck.n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III the Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm – Byblos mint c. 321/0 BCHead of young Herakles r. in lion skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated l., retrograde B to l., H beneath throne.
Price -.
Previously unrecorded type that based on style and mint controls is attributed Byblos (Berytos of Price) and dated to c. 321/0 BC in a mintage associated with the withdrawal of the Macedonian Royal army from Egypt to Triparadeisos.
(26 mm, 16.72 g, 9h).
Solidus Numismatik 29 (12 May 2018), Lot 46.
This type is unrecorded in Price. The style together with the retrograde B mint control associate it with the small series of Alexander issues attributed to Berytos by Price, now reattributed to Byblos. It appears that this coinage was struck to help meet the arrears in army pay that resulted from the abortive campaign led by Perdikkas against Ptolemy in Egypt. Perdikkas was assassinated and as the Macedonian Royal army withdrew to Triparadeisos the matter of arrears in pay became a festering issue with the infantry. In an effort to placate the troops it appears that a mint at Byblos was established to coin available silver for at least a token payment to the army.
n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm – Cyprus, Salamis under NikokreonHead of young Herakles right in lion skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, bow to left.
Price 3139a (same dies); Newell Salamis 7. The first tetradrachm emission of Salamis ca. 325/4 BC, struck under Nikokreon.
(24 mm, 16.97 g, 12h).
CNG 259 (6 July 2011) Lot 66
After the Battle of Issos, the island of Cyprus surrendered to Alexander III the Great, denying the Persian navy a base in proximity to the westernmost coast of the Mediterranean. Struck from the first set of tetradrachm dies used at the mint, this coin dates to the start of Alexander emissions from Salamis around 325/4 BC. Nikokreon (ca. 331-311/10 BC), under whose authority this coin was issued, succeeded his father Pnytagoras on the throne of Salamis. He had actively supported Alexander in the siege of Tyre and is reported to have paid homage to Alexander after the conqueror’s return from Egypt to Tyre in 331. In return he was left in power to govern Salamis. Following Alexander’s death he allied himself with Ptolemy who in 312 BC placed him in control of the entire island of Cyprus. He died in 311/10 BC after which Cyprus became the focus of the power struggle between the military forces of Ptolemy and Antigonos Monopthalmos.n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm – Damaskos c. 326/5BCHead of Herakles right in lion-skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on a backless throne; in left field forepart of ram right; beneath throne two pellets above strut, ΔA below.
Taylor AJN 29, Damaskos, Series 2.2.2, 202 (this coin), Pl.11, 202 (this coin), dies A14/P7; Price 3204. Damaskos c. 326/5 BC.
(25 mm, 17.01 g, 11h).
Reference: Taylor. L. W. H. "The Damaskos Mint of Alexander the Great." AJN Second Series 29 (2017): 47-100.
The Alexander mint at Damaskos (Damascus) opened for a brief period in the mid 320’s. The reason and purpose behind its brief operation have not been established. However, its coinage was the fourth most abundant in the Demanhur Hoard with all Damaskos issues represented. The reverse of the Damaskos iissues, bearing a portrayal of Zeus seated with parallel legs and a legend absent the royal title suggests that the mint closed before the death of Alexander III the Great
n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III the Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm – Damaskos c. 326/5 BC Head of young Herakles r. in lion-skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated l. on a backless throne; in l. field forepart of ram r.; beneath throne ΔA.
Taylor AJN 29, Damaskos, Series 2.0.1, 54 (this coin), Pl.7, 54 (this coin), dies A9/P9; Price 3202. Damaskos c. 326/5 BC.
(25 mm, 16.92 g, 11h).
Reference: Taylor. L. W. H. "The Damaskos Mint of Alexander the Great." AJN Second Series 29 (2017): 47-100.
n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III the Great, 336-323, AR Tetradrachm – Susa under satrap Aspeisas Head of Herakles right wearing lion-skin headdress.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY (of King Alexander) Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, wreath in left field; AI above strut of throne, Î P monogram below.
Price 3857.
Struck under Aspeisas, satrap of Susiana, circa 316-311 BC.
(25 mm, 16.78 g, 9h).
Classical Numismatic Group Auction 76, 12 September 2007, 772. Incorrectly attributed in the auction catalogue to Seleukos I Nikator, as an unpublished SC 164.1 variant
Susa, or Shushan in biblical Hebrew, is modern day Shush, located in southwest Iran, about 150 km east of the River Tigris. Mint operations appear to have commenced in the city around the time of the death of Alexander in 323 BC. Antigonos Monopthalmos controlled Susa in the interval 320-311 BC, after which Seleukos I annexed it to his province of Babylonia.
At the time this coin was struck in 316-314 BC, the power of Antigonos Monopthalmos was at its zenith. The wreath on the reverse is symbolic of his triumph over Eumenes of Cardia, leaving Antigonos at that time the supreme claimant to the legacy of Alexander the Great. Aspeisas, under whose direct authority the coinage at Susa was struck, was appointed satrap of Susiana by Antigonos following the second Diadoch War. He occupied this role until ca. 311 BC when Seleukos took Babylonia and Susa. A similar Alexander tetradrachm (Price 3852) of Susa issued with Aspeisas’ name on the reverse is the geographical and chronological pointer by which the subsequent issues, including the Seleukid Susa Alexanders, are definitively placed as issues of the mint at Susa. The Aspeisas tetradrachm is followed by the Susa “wreath group” of which this coin is an example. The wreath group is connected directly by magistrates’ symbols, style, and fabric to the subsequent Seleukid issues.n.igma
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Kings of Macedonia, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Sidon 333/2 BC Head of young Herakles right in lion-skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, Phoenician date (letter Alaph) indicating Year 1 (333/2 BC) beneath throne, Phoenician letter Sadhe (the ethnic of Sidon) to left.
Price 3467; Newell Sidon 8, dies -/- (previously unrecorded die set).
The first Alexander tetradrachm emission from Sidon mint 333/2 BC from the first dies used at the mint.
Nominally struck under Abdalonymos 333/2 -312/1 BC.
(23 mm, 17.2 g, 12h).
ex- Munzen Sann.
This is an example of the first Alexander coinage struck at Sidon, dated to Year 1 of his Asian reign, the year in which he defeated the Persian King Darius at the battle of Issos, followed shortly thereafter by the surrender of Sidon. The obverse die from which this coin was struck was transferred to Tyre after the fall of the city and it was used to strike the first of Alexander's coinage in the city. This die transfer/linkage was unknown to Newell and has only come to light in a recently offered specimen from Tyre CNG eAuction 276 lot 92 (incorrectly attributed to Tarsos by CNG). n.igma
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Kings of Macedonia, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Tyre 330/29 BCHead of young Herakles right in lion skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, Phoenician letters ayn and kaph (a contraction of the name of ‘Ozmilk) in left field, regnal year 20 below.
Price 3250 (Ake); Newell Ake Series IV, 12 (plate VI, 11 same obverse die XIII).
The first dated Alexander from the mint at Tyre struck 330/329 BC.
(25 mm, 17.10 g, 9h).
Harlan J. Berk 191, 2 July 2014, 46 (incorrectly attributed to Pella).
This is the first dated Alexander from the mint at Tyre. The year 20 date relates to the reign of ‘Ozmilk which has conclusively been determined to be the year 330/29 based on the extensive study of the precursor dated coinage of Tyre by Elayi and Elayi (2009).
The crude, rough hammered fabric and often crudely engraved reverse dies point to a hurried issue. The coinage may have been struck to fund the reconstruction of Tyre following the siege of the city in the first half of 332 BC. Unusual is the attempt to convey fleshy lines on the neck of Herakles; a less than successful artistic endeavor that was not repeated on subsequent dies.n.igma
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Kings of Macedonia, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Tyre 332/1 BC Head of young Herakles right in lion-skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, M under throne.
Price 3240 (b) (Ake) same dies; Newell Ake Series I, 3 (plate V, 13 same dies IV/δ).
An early emission of Alexander’s coinage from the mint of Tyre 332-330 BC. For the reattribution of the Alexander series of Ake to the mint of Tyre, see A. Lemaire, “Le monnayage de Tyr et celui dit d’Akko dans la deuxième moitié du IV siècle avant J.-C.,” RN 1976, and G. Le Rider, Alexander the Great: Coinage, Finances, and Policy (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 2007), pp. 125-34. Tyre mint 332/1 BC.
(23 mm, 17.15 g, 6h).
Harlan J Berk Buy or Bid Sale 175, May 2011, Lot 114 (incorrectly attributed to Babylon).
This is amongst the first coins issued from Tyre after the siege. It was probably struck in the months immediately following the fall of the city to Alexander. The people who handled it were probably participants in the bloody, protracted siege of Tyre and may then have accompanied Alexander on his expedition to Egypt before going on to fight at Gaugamela. Few Alexander tetradrachms can be so closely associated with the location and movements of the man.n.igma
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Kings of Macedonia, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm – Sidon 333/2 BC Head of young Herakles right in lion skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, Aramaic letter Alaph indicating year 1 (333/2 BC) beneath throne, Phoenician letter Sadhe (the ethnic of Sidon) to left (off flan).
Price 3467 (same dies as 3467c); Newell Sidon 8, dies II/γ. The first Alexander tetradrachm emission from
Sidon mint 333/2 BC.
Nominally struck under Abdalonymos 333/2 -312/11 BC.
(24 mm, 16.39 g, 12h).
This coin is from the first emission of the mint at Sidon struck immediately after the city surrendered to Alexander the Great in December 333. This is a certainty, because it is the dated to Year 1 of Alexander’s conquest of the Persian dominion, the only coinage in his realm to be so dated. Year 1 of Alexander’s reign over the Old Persian Empire followed the defeat of the Persian King Darius at the Battle of Issos in November 333 BC. The Macedonian year commenced in October of our calendar year. Thus the Phoenician date (letter Alaph) of year 1 on this coin represents the period from Alexander’s appearance in the city in late 333 BC until October 332 BC.
Newell and Price catalogued eleven examples of this coin emission from two obverse and three reverse dies. To this can be added the previously unrecorded dies of the previous coin. The obverse die from which this coin was struck, together with the engraver of the die, were transferred to the city of Tyre immediately on conquest of the latter to commence the production of Alexander’s coinage in that city. The following coin is an example of next obverse die engraved at Tyre by the same engraver. The depiction of Herakles by this engraver is very distinctive, to the extent that his handiwork, as documented by Newell, can be used to track the further movement of the engraver from Tyre to the city of Tarsos in 329 BC.n.igma
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Ptolemaic Kings of Egypt, Ptolemy I Soter as Satrap, 323-305 BC - Memphis MintHead of Herakles right wearing lion-skin headdress; test cut applied to top of the head.
AΛΕΞANΔPOY Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter; rose before, ΔI beneath throne, O between throne and scepter.
Price 3971; Muller 124; SNG Copenhagen 853; Dewing 1180.
Memphis mint ca. 323-316 BC.
(27 mm, 16.92 g, 12h).
ex- Barry P. Murphy.
Amongst the first Egyptian issues of Alexandrine tetradrachms, minted shortly after Ptolemy took control of Egypt as Satrap.
n.igma
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