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Alexander III The Great, Macedonian Kingdom, 336 - 323 B.C.
Alexander the Great is arguably the most famous man of antiquity. Born a leader, his genius and charisma led the Macedonian Army across the world creating an empire that covered most of the then-known world, from Greece to India. He was regarded as a god and his fame grew even greater after his premature death at thirty-three. His reign marks the beginning of the Hellenistic Age, a time when almost every aspect of human civilization flourished. His coinage is highly complex, struck in cities all over the ancient map and spanning over two hundred years. The representative types are the silver tetradrachms and drachms depicting an idealized portrait of Alexander in the guise of the mythical hero Heracles, and his gold staters depicting Athena.
Macedonian Kingdom, Philip III Arrhidaeus and Alexander IV, 323 - 317 B.C., in the Name/Types of Alexander the Great
NEW Sardes surrendered without a struggle to Alexander the Great in 334 B.C. Alexander stayed in Sardis for a few days soon after taking the city. He gave thanks to Zeus for delivering Sardes peacefully and decided to erect a shrine to Zeus there. When a sudden summer thunderstorm began and thunderbolt struck near the old palace of the Lydian kings, Alexander believed Zeus himself selected the site. He ordered the shrine be built on that spot. Alexander was said to have been fathered by Zeus in serpent form. A snake was found beside his sleeping mother, Olympias. Alexander's father, Philip of Macedon, is reputed to have never again coupled with the 'Bride of the Serpent.'SH111609. Gold stater, Price 2608; Müller Alexander 247, VF, attractive bust of Athena, light marks, edge splits, weight 8.214 g, maximum diameter 18.3 mm, die axis 0o, Lydia, Sardes (Sart, Turkey) mint, c. 323 - 319 B.C.; obverse head of Athena right in crested Corinthian helmet decorated with a coiled snake, wearing necklace and pendant earring; reverse Nike standing half slightly left, head left, wreath in extended right hand, stylus in left hand, TI in a circle outer left, ivy leaf lower inner left; $3200.00 (€3232.00) ON RESERVE
NEW Herakles is most often depicted on coinage wearing the scalp of the Nemean lion over his head. The first of Herakles' twelve labors, set by his cousin King Eurystheus, was to slay the Nemean lion and bring back its skin. Herakles discovered arrows and his club were useless against it because its golden fur was impervious to mortal weapons. Its claws were sharper than swords and could cut through any armor. Herakles stunned the beast with his club and, using his immense strength, strangled it to death. During the fight, the lion bit off one of his fingers. After slaying the lion, he tried to skin it with a knife but failed. Wise Athena, noticing the hero's plight, told him to use one of the lion's own claws to skin the pelt.GS110757. Silver obol, cf. Price 4007 - 4011, SGCV II 6735 - 6737, VF, dark toning, earthen deposits, obv. off center, light marks, weight 0.546 g, maximum diameter 10.4 mm, die axis 0o, uncertain Eastern mint, c. 323 - 136 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck; reverse Zeus Aëtophoros enthroned left, right leg drawn back, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, AΛEΞAN∆ downward on right, no symbol; $160.00 (€161.60)
Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Ptolemy III Euergetes, 246 - 221 B.C.
Ptolemy III Euergetes was the third ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. He promoted the translation of Jewish scriptures into Greek as the Septuagint. Due to a falling out at the Seleucid court, his eldest sister Berenice Phernophorus was murdered along with her infant son. In response, he invaded Syria, occupied Antioch, and even reached Babylon. This war, the Third Syrian War, is cryptically alluded to in Daniel XI 7-9. The Ptolemaic kingdom reached the height of its power during his reign.GP111047. Bronze trichalkon, Lorber CPE B400, Svoronos 969, SNG Cop 183, Noeske -, Weiser -, F, well centered, dark patina, corrosion, scattered pitting, central dimples, obv. edge beveled, weight 4.867 g, maximum diameter 17.2 mm, die axis 0o, Alexandria mint, c. 230 - 222 B.C.; obverse head of Alexander right, wearing elephant headdress and aegis; reverse ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ, eagle standing left on fulmen (thunderbolt), head left, wings closed, filleted cornucopia left, (chi rho monogram) between legs; $150.00 (€151.50)
Macedonian Kingdom, Alexander the Great, 336 - 323 B.C., Tyre, Phoenicia, Lifetime Issue
NEW After the battle of Issos, Alexander determined to seize the Phoenician coast and eliminate the threat of the Phoenician warships which had served Persia. He asked King Azemilkos of Tyre to allow him to enter the city to sacrifice to the god Melqart. After Azemilkos refused to make this act of submission, in January 332 B.C., Alexander besieged Tyre. The city was taken, after great violence, in September. GS110745. Silver obol, Price 3253, Newell Ake 15, SNG Cop 1011, Cohen DCA 741, HGC 10 6, gVF, toned, off center, scratch, weight 0.578 g, maximum diameter 10.1 mm, die axis 180o, Phoenicia, Tyre (Lebanon) mint, struck under Menes, 329 - 328 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck; reverse Zeus Aëtophoros enthroned left, nude to the waist, himation around hips and legs, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, right leg forward (archaic lifetime style), AΛEΞAN∆POY downward on right, Phoenician lower left: AK over 21 ([regnal year] 21 of Azemilkos [King of Tyre]); $140.00 (€141.40)
Koinon of Macedonia, Reign of Severus Alexander, c. 231 - 235 A.D., Portrait of Alexander the Great
NEW The Macedonian Koinon (community) was the political organization governing the autonomous Roman province of Macedonia and was responsible for issuing coinage. The individual cities, as members of the Koinon, sent representatives to participate in popular assembly several times each year. The high point of the year was celebrations and matches in honor of Alexander the Great and the Roman emperor held in Beroea (modern Verria) located about 75 km west of Thessaloniki. This was the provincial center of the emperor cult, with the appropriate temple and privileges, first granted to the Koinon by Nerva. The title Neokoros, or "temple guardians" was highly prized and thus advertised on coins. Under Elagabalus, the Koinon received a second neokorie, indicated by B (the Greek number two) or rarely DIC (double in Greek). The title was rescinded but later restored by Severus Alexander, probably in 231 A.D.GB110701. Bronze AE 21, RPC Online VI T302 (3 spec.), AMNG -, SNG Cop -, SNG Hunterian -, BMC Macedonia -, F, dark green patina, tight flan cutting off parts of legends, weight 3.577 g, maximum diameter 20.8 mm, die axis 180o, Beroea (Verria, Greece) mint, c. 231 - 235 A.D.; obverse AΛEΞAN∆POY, helmeted head of Alexander the Great right, griffin on helmet; reverse KOINON MAKE∆ONΩN B NE, bow, quiver with arrows, and club; zero sales of this type listed on Coin Archives in the last two decades, only four specimens known to FORVM; extremely rare; $120.00 (€121.20)
Macedonian Kingdom, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, 323 - 301 B.C., In the Name of Alexander
NEW Antigonos I Monophthalmos ("the One-eyed") (strategos of Asia, 320 - 306/5 B.C., king, 306/5 - 301 B.C.) was a nobleman, general, and governor under Alexander the Great. Upon Alexander's death in 323 B.C., he established himself as one of the successors and declared himself King in 306 B.C. The most powerful satraps of the empire, Cassander, Seleucus, Ptolemy, and Lysimachus, answered by also proclaiming themselves kings. Antigonus found himself at war with all four, largely because his territory shared borders with all of them. He died in battle at Ipsus in 301 B.C. Antigonus' kingdom was divided up, with Seleucus I Nicator gaining the most. His son, Demetrius I Poliorcetes, took Macedon, which the family held, off and on, until it was conquered by Rome in 168 B.C. -- Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaGS110740. Silver drachm, Hersh 113, Price 1965 corr. (owl left), Müller Alexander 653, SNG Munchen -, SNG Alpha Bank -, SNG Cop -, aVF, toned, porous, large scratch on reverse, weight 3.962 g, maximum diameter 16.9 mm, die axis 0o, Ionia, Magnesia ad Maeandrum (near Tekin, Turkey) mint, c. 319 - 305 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck; reverse Zeus seated left on backless throne, nude to the waist, himation around hips and legs, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, right leg drawn back, owl standing right with head facing in lower left field, AΛEΞAN∆POY downward on right, monogram under throne; scarce; $110.00 (€111.10)
Macedonian Kingdom, Alexander the Great, 336 - 323 B.C., Kition, Cyprus
NEW Kition, also known by its Latin name Citium, was a city-kingdom on the southern coast of Cyprus (present-day Larnaca). According to local tradition, it was established in the 13th century B.C. by Greek (Achaean) settlers, after the Trojan war. Its most famous resident was Zeno of Citium, born c. 334 B.C. in Citium and founder of the Stoic school of philosophy which he taught in Athens from about 300 B.C.GB111031. Bronze quarter unit, Price 3111A; cf. Tziambazis 6 (full unit); BMC Cyprus -, VF, glossy green patina, tight flan, weight 1.289 g, maximum diameter 11.4 mm, die axis 180o, Kition (Larnaca, Cyprus) mint, c. 325 - 320 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck; reverse bow and quiver on left, AΛEΞAN∆POY downward in center, knobby club with handle up on right, uncertain device outer left; very rare; $110.00 (€111.10)
NEW Herakles is most often depicted on coinage wearing the scalp of the Nemean lion over his head. The first of Herakles' twelve labors, set by his cousin King Eurystheus, was to slay the Nemean lion and bring back its skin. Herakles discovered arrows and his club were useless against it because its golden fur was impervious to mortal weapons. Its claws were sharper than swords and could cut through any armor. Herakles stunned the beast with his club and, using his immense strength, strangled it to death. During the fight, the lion bit off one of his fingers. After slaying the lion, he tried to skin it with a knife but failed. Wise Athena, noticing the hero's plight, told him to use one of the lion's own claws to skin the pelt.GS110749. Silver obol, cf. Price 4007 - 4011, SGCV II 6735 - 6737, F, well centered, encrusted, weight 0.651 g, maximum diameter 10.7 mm, die axis 180o, uncertain Eastern mint, c. 323 - 136 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck; reverse Zeus Aëtophoros enthroned left, right leg drawn back, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, AΛEΞAN∆ downward on right, no symbol visible; $60.00 (€60.60)
Kingdom of Thrace, Lysimachos, 305 - 281 B.C., Portrait of Alexander the Great
Thompson notes that Lampsacus was Lysimachos largest mint in Asia Minor, with approximately 150 known obverse dies. Output from Lampsacus declined when Amphipolis began its extensive coinage c. 288 B.C.SH24648. Silver tetradrachm, Thompson 47, Müller 401, superb EF, fabulous style and high relief portrait, weight 16.854 g, maximum diameter 28.8 mm, die axis 0o, Lampsakos (Lapseki, Turkey) mint, 286 - 281 B.C.; obverse diademed head of Alexander the Great wearing the horn of Ammon; reverse Athena Nikephoros enthroned left, Nike crowning name in extended right hand, left arm rests on grounded round shield decorated with Gorgoneion, transverse spear against right side, BAΣIΛEΩΣ (king) downward on right, ΛYΣIMAXOY (Lysimachos) downward on left, HP monogram inner left, crescent in exergue; SOLD
Seleukid Kingdom, Seleukos I Nikator, 312 - 280 B.C., Ancient Counterfeit
Superb ancient counterfeit with intact plating and of finest style.SH24647. Fouree silver plated tetradrachm, cf. Houghton-Lorber I 173 (official Susa mint), combining monograms of 173.14 and 173.16, Choice EF, weight 14.724 g, maximum diameter 26.8 mm, die axis 0o, unofficial mint, after 305 B.C.; obverse bust of Alexander or Seleukos wearing helmet covered with panther skin and adorned with horns and ears of bull; reverse BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY, Nike with spread wings, standing right, crowning trophy with wreath, AX and ΠA control-marks across lower field; ex Gorny&Mosch 141, lot 161; SOLD
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