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A Parliament of Athens OwlsOld-style; Old-style with numerous bankers marks;
Pi-style, folded flan; Mesopotamia, Levant, Arabia, or Egypt Imitative;
Contemporary forgery with bankers mark and copper core showing.Nemonater
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Alexander III AR HemiobolKingdom of Macedon, Alexander III 'the Great' AR Hemiobol. Uncertain Eastern mint, circa 325-300 BC. 0.56g, 9mm
O: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin
R: Bow, quiver and club; monogram in field.
- Cf. Price 4013-4014.Nemonater
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Alexander III Athena / Nike AV StaterKINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. AV Stater (17.5mm, 8.65 g, 11h). Sidon mint. Struck under Menes. Dated RY 7 of Abdalonymos (327/6 BC).
O: Head of Athena right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet decorated with coiled serpent, and necklace
R: AΛEΞANΔPOY, Nike standing left, holding wreath in extended right hand and cradling stylis in left arm; palm frond and date (in Phoenician) to left, ΣI below left wing.
- Price 3482; Newell, Dated 21 (dies –/α [unlisted obv. die]); Rouvier 1171; DCA 867. From the rare, earliest issue of dated Sidon staters.
Abdalonymos was a gardener, but of royal descent, who was made king of Sidon by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. After Alexander the Great had Sidon under siege, he gave permission to Hephaestion to bestow its crown on whom he pleased. Hephaestion offered it to two brothers with whom he lodged, but they thankfully declined it, alleging that according to their local laws, it could only be worn by one of royal blood. Being desired to point out such a person, they named Abdalonymos - the gardener, who, notwithstanding his birth, had fallen into such poverty, that he supported himself by the cultivation of a kitchen garden.
Hephaestion directed the brothers to carry the royal crown and robes to Abdalonymos. They obeyed, and found him weeding in his garden. After causing him to wash, they invested him with the ensigns of royalty, and conducted him to Alexander. This prince, who discerned in him an aspect not unworthy of his origin, turning to those around him and said 'I wish to know how he bore his poverty.'-'Would to heaven,' replied Abdalonymos, 'I may as well bear my prosperity! These hands have ministered to all my necessities; and as I possessed nothing, I wanted nothing'. Alexander was so well pleased with this reply, that he confirmed the nomination of Hephaestion, and gave the new king the palace and private estate of Strato his predecessor, and even augmented his dominions from the neighbouring country.Nemonater
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Alexander III Posthumous LampsacusAlexander III the Great (336-323 BC). AR drachm (18mm, 4.5 gm, 9h). Posthumous issue of Lampsacus, ca. 310-301 BC.
O: Head of Heracles right, wearing lion skin headdress, paws tied before neck
R: ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus seated left on backless throne, right leg drawn back, feet on stool, eagle in right hand, scepter in left; forepart of Pegasus left in left field, NO monogram below throne.
- Price 1382. Light golden and blue highlights.Nemonater
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Alexander III Price 3000KINGS OF MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’, 336-323 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 25 mm, 17.16 g, 3 h), Tarsos, struck under Balakros or Menes, circa 333-327.
O: Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress.
R: AΛEΞANΔPOY Zeus seated left on low throne, holding long scepter in his left hand and eagle standing right with closed wings in his right; below throne, B.
- Price 3000. Nemonater
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Alexander III Tetradrachm Price 2993KINGS OF MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’, 336-323 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 25 mm, 17.25 g, 4 h), Tarsos, struck under Balakros or Menes, circa 333-327.
O:Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress.
R: AΛEΞANΔPOY Zeus seated left on low throne, holding long scepter in his left hand and eagle standing right with closed wings in his right; below throne, A.
- Price 2993. Nemonater
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Alexander III Tetradrachm Price 2999KINGS OF MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’, 336-323 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 25 mm, 17.13 g, 12 h), Tarsos, struck under Balakros or Menes, circa 333-327.
O: Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress.
R: AΛEΞANΔPOY Zeus seated left on low throne, holding long scepter in his left hand and eagle standing right with closed wings in his right.
- Price 2999. A rare early and unusual issue from Tarsos, "Officina B", bearing no symbol.
Alexander the Great (356 B.C.–323 B.C.) has been recognized as the greatest stratelates (roughly, ‘general’) in history. His army consisted of 30,000 infantryman and 5,000 cavalrymen. In 334 B.C., when he was 22 years old, he embarked on a campaign starting from the capital of Macedonia, Pella, and he created the Macedonian Empire within 8 years, by 326 B.C. The Macedonian Empire extended from Greece to India and North Africa. Alexander fought in the front lines in every battle, thereby encouraging his fellow warriors to do their best. He was never a spectator in battles, and the rear line was not for him. In each battle, just as any of his soldiers, he faced the risk of not seeing the sunset. He was in danger of “dining in Hades,” as they said about soldiers who died during battle. All his soldiers saw Alexander’s back in every battle.
By comparing these early Tarsos tetradrachms to the staters of Mazaios (Pictured below) it is easy to see the identical forms of the throne, scepter, footstool and other details. The drapery is rendered in a similar manner, the Aramaic inscription of the one and the Greek inscription of the other share the same curve following the dotted border. This evidence indicates the two series of coins were the common product of a single mint.
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Alexander III ‘the Great’Alexander III ‘the Great’ AR Drachm (18mm 4.24g) Sardes mint. Lifetime issue, circa 334/25-323 BC.
O: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin R: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; torch in left field, monogram below throne. Price 2567.Nemonater
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Athena / Owl Tetradrachm Attica, Athens AR Tetradrachm. 17.22g, 23mm, 10h. Circa 454-404 BC.
O: Head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet ornamented with three olive leaves above visor and spiral palmette on bowl, round earring with central boss, and pearl necklace. Braided hair curling out below the helmet.
R: Owl standing to right with head facing, olive sprig and crescent behind, ΑΘΕ "Of the Athenians"; all within incuse square.
- Kroll 8; Dewing 1591-8; SNG Copenhagen 31.
Nemonater
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Athens, Greece, Pi-Style III Tetradrachm, 353 - c. 340 B.CSilver tetradrachm, 17.1g, Athens mint, oval flan, typical of the type.
O: Head of Athena right with eye seen in true profile, wearing crested helmet ornamented with three olive leaves and pi-style floral scroll, pellet in ear.
R: Owl standing right, head facing, to right AΘE in large lettering, to left olive sprig and crescent, pellet over eyes.
- Kroll Pi-Style p. 244, fig. 8; Flament p. 126, 3; SNG Cop 63; SNG Munchen 96; SNG Delepierre 1479; Svoronos Athens pl. 20: 2
Unlike the customary flans of 5th and earlier 4th century Athenian tetradrachms that have solid, rounded edges from having been cast in a mold, these were struck on thick planchets made of flattened, folded-over, older tetradrachms. The flattened coins were not just folded in two but were folded over a second time to produce a planchet of three or four layers
There are three distinct features of this type of Athens Owl coinage. 1st, they have flans that are commonly misshapen. A number of them are so distorted that numismatists and collectors in Greece have long referred to them as “logs” (koutsoura); these are the tetradrachms in the form of long, stretched ovals with one or two nearly straight sides. 2nd, since the flans, of whatever shape, were ordinarily too small for the full relief designs of the dies, relatively few pi-style coins were minted with their entire obverse and/or reverse type showing. 3rd, just as the diameters and surface areas of the pi flans are generally smaller than those of Athenian tetradrachms of the 5th century and of the first half of the 4th century, they tend also to be exceptionally thick.
The name Pi-style refers to the floral helmet ornament on the obverse which resembles the Greek letter pi (P) bisected by a long central tendril. Nemonater
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Attica, Athens, Athena and OwlAttica, Athens, 449-413 BC, silver tetradrachm, 21 mm, 16.88 g.
O: Head of Athena to right, the eye seen in facing, archaic style, banker's mark on cheek.
R: Owl standing to right, head facing; to right A-theta-E; to left, olive twig and crescent, all within incuse square, two test cuts and crescent banker's mark in field.
This was the first true "silver dollar" of the ancient world, the coins manufactured in Athens circulated wherever the Greeks travelled. Furthermore, similar coins were struck at a number of Eastern mints, and this may be one of them.
Dark toning with beautiful dark blue highlights.
Nemonater
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Balakros StaterCILICIA, Tarsos. Balakros. Satrap of Cilicia, 333-323 BC. AR Stater. (22mm., 10,26g.)
O: Baaltars seated left, his torso facing, holding lotus-tipped scepter in extended right hand, left hand holding chlamys at his waist; grain ear to left, B’LTRZ (in Aramaic) to right, Σ (retrograde). There is the possibility that instead of this being a retrograde Σ below the throne it is a sideways M, making the mint Mallos for this issue.
R: Lion left, attacking bull right above two lines of turreted wall (Tarsos); club above.
- Casabonne series 1; cf. SNG France 363
Tarsus, the principal city of Cilicia, was used as a mint by a succession of Persian satraps during the fourth century BC. When Alexander the Great took the city in 333, he appointed a satrap of his own. The new satrap, Balacrus, continued to strike coinage at Tarsus very much in the manner of earlier satraps. The obverse of this stater depicts the local god of Tarsus, who is usually associated with symbols of fertility (in this case, the grain ear). The reverse type is a borrowing from the coinage the previous satrap, Mazaeus (361-334 BC). It shows a lion-bull combat—a typical theme of both Persian and Greek art—above the city walls of Tarsus. Author David Hendin has suggested that the impressive circuit of walls shown on the reverse may be those of Jerusalem, which fell within the jurisdiction of the Satrap of Cilicia.Nemonater
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Barbaric Alexander TetradrachmSilver tetradrachm, uncertain (tribal?) mint, c. 3rd - 2nd Century B.C.
O: head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin headdress;
R: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on throne without back, nude to the waist, himation around hips and legs, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, AΛEΞAN∆POY downward on right, wreath to left; X below throne
-cf. Price B36 ff. (barbarous, uncertain prototypes); Obverse die match to CNG E- Auction 190 lot 42
Price (p. 506) notes that the ‘barbarous’ copies of Alexander III tetradrachms differ from contemporary imitations in that they were meant not to defraud but rather to provide coinages for the local economies in areas on the fringes of the classical world.
Many Greek cities across what was once Alexander's empire struck Alexander tetradrachms as civic coinage, even centuries after the death of the great conqueror. Similarly, peoples on the fringes of the Greek world also struck Alexander tetradrachms; sometimes with unusual or bizarre style, and often with illiterate blundered inscriptions. These coins are often described as "barbaric." We can attribute some of these imitative types to specific places or tribes. Other coins, such as this one, are a mystery. - FACNemonater
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Cilicia, Uncertain HemiobolCilicia, uncertain mint. AR Hemiobol 4th C. BC. 0.31g, 7mm.
O: Female figure seated r. on the ground playing with astragali.
R: Archer kneeling r., drawing bow, Amphora to right.
- Troxell-Kagan, pg. 277, 6; Klein 641.Nemonater
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Half Shekel Tyre CY 40 (87/86 BC)Tyre AR Half Shekel. Dated CY 40 = 87/6 BC.
O: Laureate bust of Melkart right
R: ΤΥPΟΥ ΙΕΡΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΣΥΛΟΥ, eagle standing left on prow, palm frond behind; LM (date) above club to left, Δ to right, Phoenician B between legs.
DCA-Tyre 479; HGC 10, 358; DCA 921Nemonater
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Half Shekel Tyre Uncertain DatePHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Half Shekel. Uncertain date.
O:Laureate bust of Melkart right
R: Eagle standing left on prow, with palm frond over shoulder; to left, illegible date above club; crude monograms to right, [Phoenician letter] between legs.
The Isfiya hoard uncovered in 1955 consisted of more than 4,000 shekels and half shekels. The coins had a full range of dates through the 50s AD (about the Tyre year 170s). About 15 percent of the coins had crude and unreadable dates. Since the hoard had almost no coins in the 20s to 30s AD (mid Tyre year 140s through the 150s), the finders made a conjecture that that's where these unreadable coins fall. All these coins with unreadable dates had a KP monogram. Mine lacks readable monograms so I cannot be sure about its period of striking. However, this coin is consistent with the coins in this group.Nemonater
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Half Shekel, Tyre LA (Year 1)6.43 g Tyre Mint 126/125 BCE
O: Head of Herakles (Melqart)
R: Eagle standing left; ΤΥΡΟΥ ΙΕΡΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΣΥΛΟΥ "Of Tyre the Holy and City of Refuge." around; Date LA to left; Monogram FP to right.
- DCA Tyre Release 2 Part 2 #720, this coin
BMC Phoenicia page 250 #213 lists one Year 1 half shekel with M monogram. DCA lists this date as R3, the highest rarity rating.
Unique with with FP monogram. Glossy, dark chocolate find patina.
Demetrius II, who twice ruled the Seleucid Kingdom, was the last Greek king to strike silver coins at Tyre (though Seleucid rulers issued silver coins as late as 106 or 105 B.C. at two of Tyre’s close neighbors, Sidon to the north and Ake-Ptolemais to the south). Interestingly, the second reign of Demetrius II, from 129 to 125 B.C., ended with his execution at Tyre after March 125 — the year by which Tyre certainly had introduced its famous shekels.
Before his execution, Demetrius had issued large quantities of tetradrachms and didrachms at Tyre. At about 14 grams, his tetradrachms weighed the same as the shekels that Tyre would strike upon achieving independence from the Seleucids.
Shekels and Half Shekels of Tyre began being issued as autonomous silver coins in 126/125 BCE after gaining freedom from Seleucid domination that year. Although similar in style to the Seleucid coinage, the most obvious change was the King's bust being replaced with the city's chief god Melqart.
They have become highly desired due to their being the money of choice for payments to the Jerusalem Temple. The half shekel was the required yearly tribute to the temple for every Jewish male over the age of 20.
Ed Cohen notes in Dated Coins of Antiquity, that the minting of Tyre shekels or, more specifically, half shekels, ended at the onset of the Jewish Revolt in 65/66 and the minting of the Jewish Revolt shekels then begins. This, along with other compelling evidence, has led many, including me, to believe the later "KP" shekels were struck south of Tyre.Nemonater
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Heavily Countermarked Classical (Old-Style), c. 454 - 404 B.C. Athens Owl TetradrachmNemonater
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Islands off Attica, Aegina Transitional Issue Land Tortoise Islands off Attica, Aegina. Circa 456/45-431 BC. AR Stater 12.40g, 22mm
O: Land tortoise, head in profile, with segmented shell
R: Large square incuse with heavy skew pattern.
- Meadows, Aegina, Group IIIb; Milbank pl. II, 13; HGC 6, 437 var. (head not in profile); SNG Copenhagen 517 var. (same); Dewing 1683 var. (same); Gillet 948 var. (same); Jameson 1200 var. (same); Pozzi 1635 var. (same).
Struck on a broad flan. Very rare with head in profile.
The head of the land tortoise on this massive coinage is typically engraved shown from above, with the tortoise looking forward. Very rarely are they encountered with the head shown in profile. The profile head was canonical on the earlier, sea turtle coinage, thus the land tortoise coins of this variety may represent a short transitional issue at the beginning of this period.
The island of Aegina, about 25 miles southeast of Athens, is a rocky and mountainous outcrop, with limited arable land. Thus from an early period the sea had to serve as the livelihood for the inhabitants. The Aeginetans ranged far and wide over the Mediterranean, becoming exceptional merchants and carriers. In the early 6th century BC. they had a near monopoly on the transshipping of grain out from the Back Sea region to the Peloponnesos. Within fifty years they were holding significant grain concessions at the Egyptian port of Naukratis. During this heyday period the Aeginetans held an enviable reputation as general traders and transporters.
In their travels, the Aeginetan merchants encountered the early forms of money developing in Asia Minor. The concept was obviously seen as advantageous in terms of commerce and trade. Another incentive could very well be that proposed by Kraay, in Archaic and Classical Greek Coins: that the Aeginetans quickly realized that surplus wealth, which their commercial ventures were producing at the time, could also be stored indefinitely in the form of silver coin. And so the island began coining money sometime near the mid-6th century BC. Of thick, chunky fabric for the larger staters, all denominations bear the image of a sea turtle in high relief, with compartmented incuse on the reverse. The choice of turtle (chelones) no doubt alluded to their marine interests. Traditionally these are placed as being the first coins struck in Europe -- and nothing to date has emerged to challenge this view.
The coins of the earliest period, struck up to about 480 BC, are found in hoards of circulated coins dating well into the 4th century BC; this extreme length of use of the coin suggests a remarkable abundance, and thus evidence for a prolific output by her mint. Also, well-worn specimens have been found included among hoard coinage in such diverse spots as Egypt, Tarentum in southern Italy, at Persepolis in Iran, and as far east as Kabul, in Afghanistan. Interestingly, however, in hoards where the dominant coin is that of Aegina, the find spots suggest that her immediate monetary influence was more limited -- the area of the Cyclades islands and Crete was where the bulk of the island's monies were utilized.
Aside from silver and bullion accumulated in trade, Aegina's primary source of silver for her earliest coins seems to have been the mines on the island of Syphnos. Again, hoard evidence suggests how huge the output was for this early trade coin, and likewise indicates that these mines were at the peak of their production in the 6th century. After 480 BC, production of Aegina's "turtles" began decreasing over the next twenty years -- thus either mining activities on Syphnos declined seriously or ceased altogether.
Another hindering factor to the island's coinage during this period would be the rise and dominance of Athens as Mistress of the Aegean. Attic influence went beyond mere commerce, her empire-building included political meddling and the securing of resources. In fact, Athens conquered Aegina in 457 BC and stripped her of her maritime powers. This loss of Aegina's sea-borne livelihood may well have been the reason for the change of design on her coin's obverse. The sea turtle then became a land tortoise, as seen by the pronounced segmented pattern on the creature's shell-covered back. Athens again showed her might by expelling the Aeginetans from their island in 431 BC. It was only after the conclusion of the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC, with Athens' power broken, that the island's inhabitants returned home to resume their activities and their coinage. The final phase of the venerable "turtles" saw them become a reduced coinage, increasingly for local use only. The tortoise motif disappears some time during the 3rd century BC. And by the 2nd century BC, what had been Europe's first and most important precious metal trade coinage was now only small, inconsequential coppers.Nemonater
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Kassander As RegentKassander. As Regent, 317-305 BC, or King, 305-297 BC. AR Fifth Tetradrachm (16mm, 2.32 g, 5h). Uncertain Macedonian mint (Amphipolis?).
O: Head of Apollo right
R: Horseman riding right; club below.
- Le Rider pl. 48, 10-2; SNG ANS 822-6. From the Demetrios Armounta Collection.Nemonater
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Kingdom of Lydia Alyattes II EL TriteKingdom of Lydia. Alyattes II EL Trite. 610-560 BC. Sardes mint, 4.67g, 13mm.
O: Confronted lion’s heads (only the right is visible); walwet (partially off flan) between.
R: Double incuse square punch. Weidauer 93.
The Kingdom of Lydia under the Mermnad dynasty may well have been the originator of coinage in the Mediterranean world. It possessed rich deposits of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver, which was the only metal used for coin production in its earliest stages. While most of these coins are anepigraphic, a small number of types bear either the the inscription walwet or kukalim in Lydian, the former thought to be the name of the Mermnad king known from Greek sources as Alyattes.
On trites such as this coin, the oversized die features two confronted lion's heads, with the inscription between them, although only the right or left lion is ever fully visible. It would seem the dies were initially produced for the striking of staters, although none survive.
Nemonater
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Lysimachus AR tetradrachmTHRACIAN KINGDOM. Lysimachus (305-281 BC) struck 287/6-281/0. AR tetradrachm (30mm, 17.17 gm, 11h). Thrace, Lysimachia.
O: Diademed head of deified Alexander III right, with horn of Ammon
R: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑXΟ[Υ]; (King Lysimachus), Athena seated left, Nike in right hand crowning name, left arm resting on shield, transverse spear in background; YE monogram in exergue.
- From the Medicus Collection, Ex CGB.fr MONNAIES 9 lot 33, MONNAIES 19 lot 44 2004, MONNAIES 34 lot 102 2008, Ex Gorny and Mosch, Auction 42 (10 October 1988) lot 138. Formerly known as NGC Choice XF 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style. - Müller 41?, Gülnar II 2696? (A. Davesne & G. Le Rider. Le trésor de Meydancikkale. 2 Vols. Paris. 1989.) Possibly unique with this monogram.
Missing the final upsilon of the name of Lysimachus, how could such a talented engraver make this mistake?Nemonater
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Macedon under Roman Rule. First Meris AR Tetradrachm.Macedon under Roman Rule. First Meris AR Tetradrachm. Amphipolis, 158-146 BC.
O: Diademed and draped bust of Artemis right, bow and quiver at shoulder; all within tondo of Macedonian shield
R: ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΩΝ ΠΡΩΤΗΣ, horizontal club, monograms above and below; all within oak wreath tied at left; thunderbolt in outer left field. Nemonater
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Mazaios StaterCILICIA, Tarsos. Mazaios. Satrap of Cilicia, 361/0-334 BC. AR Stater (23mm, 10.6 g, 10h).
O: Baaltars seated left, his torso facing, holding eagle-tipped scepter in extended right hand; to left, grain ear and grape bunch above L (in Aramaic) to left, M (in Aramaic) below throne, B’LTRZ (in Aramaic) to right
R: Lion left, attacking bull right above crenellated walls; MZDY ZY 'BRNHR’ W ḤLK (‘Mazaios, Governor of Transeuphrates and Cilicia’ in Aramaic) above.
- Casabonne Series 4, Group A; SNG France 360; SNG Levante 113; Sunrise 67.
The Aramaic inscription on the reverse of this stater has prompted Biblical coin researcher David Hendin to reconsider the meaning of this coin type. It traditionally is translated as “Mazaios governor of Transeuphrates and Cilicia,” but Hendin translates it somewhat differently as “Mazaios who is over Eber Nahara and Cilicia.” The similarity of this inscription and a descriptive phrase used in two books of the Old Testament (which was codified at approximately the time this coin was struck) has led to Hendin’s suggestion that the walls on this coin represent the ones encompassing Jerusalem, which less than a century before had been rebuilt by Nehemiah, as related in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. (A fuller discussion of the subject is presented on pages 100-103 of the 4th edition of Hendin’s Guide to Biblical Coins.)
Nemonater
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Philip II Tetradrachm Lifetime IssuePhilip II Tetradrachm Lifetime Issue Amphipolis Mint, 355-349/8.
O: Laureate head of Zeus to right.
R: ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ Philip II, wearing kausia and chlamys and raising his right hand in salute, riding to left; horizontal club below belly.
- Le Rider 96-108
The reverse is a representation of the King’s arrival on his accession to the throne, dressed in traditional Macedonian garb.Nemonater
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Phoenicia, Tyre Shekel with Star Countermark CY 92 (35/4 BC)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (13.10 g, 12h). Irregular issue Dated CY 92 (35/4 BC). Laureate bust of Melkart right / Eagle standing left on prow, with palm frond over shoulder; to left, ЧB (date) above club; monogram to right, beth between legs. Extremely rare with star countermark. (7 or 8 known to exist? Unique with this date.)
- DCA Release 2 Part 1, 316, this coin.Nemonater
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Ptolemy I Soter Tetradrachm as SatrapPtolemy I Soter. Silver Tetradrachm (15.68 g, 26mm), as Satrap, 323-305 BC. Alexandria, in the name of Alexander III. Overstruck on earlier Alexander tetradrachm, 306-305 BC.
O: Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, wearing elephant's skin headdress, aegis around neck with tiny Δ in scales.
R: AΛEΞANΔPOY in left field, Athena Alkidemos advancing right, wielding javelin and holding forth shield;in right field, monogram, Corinthian helmet right above ΔI and eagle standing right on thunderbolt.
-CPE 72; Svoronos 169; Zervos Issue 31, dies 527/a; SNG Copenhagen 30; BMC 26 (same dies).
Overstruck, undertype beading visible on obverse just above elephant's ear; on the reverse, portrait of Alexander above eagles head into Athena's shield.
The earlier 17g tetradrachms were withdrawn from circulation in 306/305 BC and reissued after weight adjustment. They were trimmed to remove 1.5g of silver, heated and restruck. This must have been faster than melting them down into bullion and restriking. Some of these issues, such as this one, show the clear evidence of the edges being trimmed, although many do not.
Ptolemy was feeling the financial burden of repelling Antigonus’ invasion and supporting Rhodes through a thirteen-month siege. The government needed extra currency and Egypt produced little or no silver. The recall of the heavy issues meant 8 tetradrachms were restruck into 9 “Crisis Issues” but with no change in the appearance of the dies.Nemonater
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Ptolemy I Soter Tetradrachm as SatrapPtolemy I Soter. Silver Tetradrachm (15.65 g, 30mm), as Satrap, 323-305 BC. Alexandria, in the name of Alexander III
O: Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, wearing elephant's skin headdress.
R: AΛEΞANΔPOY in left field, Athena Alkidemos advancing right, wielding javelin and holding forth shield;in right field, monogram, Corinthian helmet above and eagle standing right on thunderbolt.
Overstruck, traces of undertype visible.
The earlier 17g tetradrachms were withdrawn from circulation in 306/305 BC and reissued after weight adjustment. They were trimmed to remove 1.5g of silver, heated and restruck. This must have been faster than melting them down into bullion and restriking. Some issues show clear evidence of the edges being trimmed, although many, such as this one, do not.
Ptolemy was feeling the financial burden of repelling Antigonus’ invasion and supporting Rhodes through a thirteen-month siege. The government needed extra currency and Egypt produced little or no silver. The recall of the heavy issues meant 8 tetradrachms were restruck into 9 “Crisis Issues” but with no change in the appearance of the dies. Nemonater
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Seleukos I NikatorSeleukos I Nikator, 312 - 281 B.C. AR Unit 17mm, 3.3 g. Babylon I mint. Struck circa 311-300 BC O: Head of Herakles wearing lion skin R: Club and quiver-over-bow; monogram to left, Lambda to right.
SC 84; Price 3705; A. Spaer, “A New Type of Alexander the Great?” INJ 5 (1981), 1; HGC 9, 70 (R3). Only two others published, each from a different set of dies and different monogram on the reverse.
Seleukos was Satrap in Babylon from 321/20-316 BC and then fled to Egypt under threat from Antigonos. He returned to Babylonia in April 311 and it is from this date in the Macedonian year 312/11 that the Seleukid era is dated i.e. Seleucid Year 1 = 312/11 BC being the year he ousted Peithon from Babylonia. Peithon had been appointed Satrap of Babylonia by Antigonos after the flight of Seleukos.
Previous authors have noted the denomination of this rare issue as 1/5th tetradrachm or 1/5th stater, based on the Macedonian standard used from Archelaos through Philip II. However, the weights of the three published pieces, 3.3 g, 3.19 g and 2.79 g, do not comport well with this idea. The fact that this type is only known in the far eastern mint of Babylon also makes such a weight standard doubtful. Unfortunately, the weights of these three pieces also do not comport well with the local Babylonian standard. Until more pieces come to light, their exact standard and denomination remains unknown.Nemonater
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Seleukos I Nikator / Quadriga of ElephantsSeleukos I Nikator. 312-281 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27mm, 17.13 g, 4h). Seleukeia on the Tigris II mint. Struck circa 296/5-281 BC.
O: Laureate head of Zeus right
R: BAΣIΛEÎ©Σ (King) left, Athena, brandishing spear and shield, in quadriga of elephants right; anchor above,ΣEΛEYKOY (Seleukos), two monograms in exergue.
- SC 130.20c corr. (monogram); ESM – (but obv. die A42); HGC 9, 18a; NFA XXII, lot 339 (same dies); CNG 96 lot 530 (Same Dies).
For this variety, 130.20c, SC cites NFA XXII, lot 339, but the monogram is not clear in the photograph. The present coin, from the same dies as the NFA piece, clearly shows that the diagonal line in the lower left of the monogram is not present.
Seleucus I was the founder of the Seleucid dynasty. His kingdom at its highest point extended from Thrace and Asia Minor in the West to Bactria in the East and from the Black Sea in the north to the borders of Egypt in the South. Out of all of the Successors of Alexander the Great, he was the one who came closest to restoring the entirety of the Macedonian Empire. Although Seleucus had been appointed satrap of Babylonia by an assembly of Alexander’s former generals in 321 BC, Antigonos, who was made strategos of Asia at the same time sought to remove the satraps that he could not control and thereby become the new master of Alexander’s Empire. Realizing the danger, Seleucus escaped from Babylon to the Egyptian court of Ptolemy. With Ptolemy’s assistance, Seleucus was able to return to Babylon and reclaim his satrapy in 312 BC. In 306/5 he embarked upon an eastern campaign to gain control of the Upper Satrapies.
This series of tetradrachms served as a reminder of the 500 war elephants Seleukos received in settlement with Chandragupta in the Peace of 303. The treaty is celebrated on the reverse which depicts a militant Athena being pulled by four elephants equipped with horned headdresses.
Elephants were the equivalent to the tank of the ancient Greek world. The elephants of Chandragupta had a pivotal role to play in Seleucus’ reign. Thanks to their timely arrival at the Battle of Ipsos (301 BC), it was possible for Seleucus and his allies to defeat and kill Antigonos, thereby ending an ever-present threat to his security. With Antigonos gone, Seleucus could safely rule his eastern kingdom. In 281 BC Philetairos and other cities and rulers of western Asia Minor invited Seleucus to march west and destroy his sometime ally, Lysimachos, who had made himself very unpopular in the region. Seleucus acquiesced to this request, defeating and killing Lysimacus at the Battle of Korupedion. This victory gained for Seleucus all of Lysimacus’ former territory in Asia Minor and Thrace, but he was not able to savour this triumph for long. Later in the year, as he marched through Thrace, Seleucus was murdered by a refugee from the Ptolemaic court. Nemonater
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Seleukos I Nikator Trophy Tetradrachm SELEUKID KINGS of SYRIA. Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 26mm, 17.02 g 8), Susa, c. 304-298/7.
O: Bust of Alexander the Great and/or Seleukos as Dionysos to right, wearing helmet covered with a panther skin and adorned with a bull’s horn and ear, and with a panther skin tied around his shoulders.
R: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΕΛΕΥΚΟΥ Nike walking to right, placing wreath on trophy of arms to right; to left and right of Nike, monogram.
- CSE 1023. ESM 426. Kraay/Hirmer 740. SC 173.4., Ex New York Sale XXVIII, 5 January 2012, 1033, and from an English collection.
The portrait on the obverse has been identified as Dionysos, Alexander, or Seleukos. The arguments for each identification have merit, and indeed they are probably all correct; the image is an assimilation of all three into a singular portrait, as Iossif argues. The portrait relates to Seleukos' eastern victory and ties his mythology to that of both Dionysos (the panther being the animal companion of the god Dionysos), the first conqueror of India, and Alexander, the second conqueror of India.
In contrast, the reverse relates to the western victories of Seleukos. Here, Nike, the goddess of victory, places a wreath on a “trophy of arms”. An ancient “trophy” was a wooden post set up on a battlefield, decorated with the armor and weapons of a defeated enemy. This trophy is built from Macedonian arms, as evidenced by the Vergina Sun (or Argead Star) emblazoned on the shield. This star is ubiquitous in Greek and Macedonian art from ancient times down to our day. A beautiful example is found on a larnax in the tomb of Philip II of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great. This clearly identifies the vanquished enemy as the Antigonid army that fell at Ipsos in 301 BCE.
Thus, this issue celebrates the totality of Seleukos' victories in the east and west, solidifying his new empire, and also further establishes his dynastic heritage by tying his exploits to that of the great conqueror, Alexander, in an effort to legitimize Seleukos' right to rule over these vast lands.
Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre Civic Year 143 (17/18 CE)PHOENICIA. Tyre. AR shekel (24.57mm, 13.45 gm) Dated Civic Year 143
O: Laureate head of Melqart right
R: TYPOY IEPAΣ KAI AΣYΛOY (Tyre the Holy and Inviolable), Eagle standing left on prow, palm frond over wing; to left ΡΜΓ, date above club.Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre Civic Year 4 (123/2 BC)PHOENICIA. Tyre. AR shekel (30mm, 14.09 gm, 12h). Dated Civic Year 4 (123/1222 BC).
O: Laureate head of Melqart right
R: TYPOY IEPAΣ KAI AΣYΛOY (Tyre the Holy and Inviolable), Eagle standing left on prow, palm frond over wing; to left, LΔ (date) above club, M and Phoenician bet between legs.
- DCA Tyre 9. DCA 921. ex ClassicalCoins.Com 2005
Note the unusual placement of the monogram. From years 1-4 the placement of the monogram varies, after which it became standardized to the right of the eagle.
A development which encouraged the wealth of Tyre seems to have been a religious revolution in the city under the reigns of Abibaal and Hiram which elevated the god known as Melqart (a deified version of Hercules) over the traditional divine couple of the Phoenicians, Baal (also known as El) and Astarte (Asherah). The primacy of Melqart (whose name means `King of the City') drew power away from the priests of the traditional pantheon of the gods and placed it at the disposal of the palace. Richard Miles notes, "It seems that a desire to bring the temples to heel lay behind the royal decision to replace the traditional chief deities of Tyre with a new god, Melqart"(32). The result was not only an increase in the wealth of the palace but, through a more efficient distribution of that wealth, increased prosperity for the whole of the city.Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre CY 118 Date Recut to Year 119 (9/8 and 8/7 BC)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (23mm, 13.86 g, 12h). Original date CY 118 (9/8 BC).
O: Laureate head of Melkart right, lion skin around neck
R: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond in background; to left, PIH (date) above club, recut as PIΘ (Theta engraved over the H); to right, KP above Gamma K monogram; Phoenician A between legs.
- Unique, PIΘ is an unrecorded date in every standard reference. No recorded sales that I could find. Ex RG&S Provo, UtahNemonater
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Shekel Tyre CY 12 (115/114 BC)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (28.5mm, 14.30 g, 12h). Dated CY 12 (115/4 BC).
O: Laureate head of Melkart right, [wearing lion skin around neck]
R: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond in background; to left, BI (date) above club; monogram to right, B (in Phoenician) between legs.
- DCA-Tyre 24; HGC 10, 357; DCA 919. Die clash, rare date, ex Aegean NumismaticsNemonater
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Shekel Tyre CY 124 (3/2 BC)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (24mm, 1h). Dated CY 124 (3/2 BC).
O: Laureate bust of Melqart right
R: Eagle standing left on prow, with palm branch over shoulder; to left, PKΔ (date) above club; to right, KP above monogram; Phoenician letter between legs.
- Extremely rare dateNemonater
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Shekel Tyre CY 135 (AD 9/10)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (24mm, 14.31 g, 12h). Dated CY 135 (AD 9/10).
O: Head of Melkart right, wearing laurel wreath, lion skin around neck
R: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond in background; to left, PΛE (date) above club; to right, KP above monogram; Phoenician B between legs; TVPOV IEPAΣ KAI AΣVΛOV around.
- DCA-Tyre 484; Rouvier –; RPC I 4654; HGC 10, 357; DCA 920; Rare dateNemonater
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Shekel Tyre CY 157 (AD 31/2)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (22mm, 13.66 g.). Dated CY 157 (AD 31/2). O: Head of Melkart right, wearing laurel wreath, lion skin around neck
R: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond in background; to left, [P]NZ (date) above club; to right, KP above monogram; uncertain Phoenician letter between legs; TVPOV IEPAΣ KAI AΣVΛOV around.
Dated and die matched to Civic Year 157, extremely rare date, 6th known.Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre CY 159, (33-34 CE)Shekel Tyre CY 159, 33-34CE
PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (14.29 g g, 12h). Dated CY 159 (AD 33/4).
O: Bust of Melkart right, wearing laurel wreath.
R: Eagle standing left on prow, palm frond over right wing; to left, PNΘ (date) above club; to right, KP above monogram; Phoenician letter between legs; TYPOY IEPAΣ KAI AΣYΛOY around.
- Rouvier 2107 var. (monogram); RPC 4663; SNG Copenhagen -; BMC 204 var. (monogram & letter between legs); HGC 10, 357; DCA 920.
Perhaps the most desirable date in the 191 year series due to 33 C.E. being the most widely accepted year for Jesus execution.
Tacitus, a Roman historian who lived during the latter part of the first century C.E., wrote: “Christus [Latin for “Christ”], from whom the name [Christian] had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.”—The Complete Works of Tacitus (New York, 1942), “The Annals,” Book 15, par. 44.Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre CY 166 (40/41)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel. 14.45g Dated CY ΡΞς (40/41 CE).
O: Laureate bust of Melkart right
R: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond behind; to left, ΡΞς (Year 166; 40/41CE) above club; monogram KP to right, Phoenician Aleph between legs.
- DCA I -, DCA II 613 plate coin.
Extremely rare date, only three known to exist, unique with Aleph. RPC1s.4669A listed a shekel for year 166, ΡΞς. It gave neither identification of its monogram, letter beneath the eagle, nor its weight.Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre CY 176 (50/1 AD)PHOENICIA. Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. Shekel CY 176 = AD 50/1.
O: Laureate head of Melkart to right, lion skin tied around neck.
R: TYPOY IEPAΣ KAI AΣYΛOY Eagle standing left on prow, palm frond in background; to left, ΡΟς above club; to right, KP above monogram; between the eagle's legs, 𐤁 (B in Punic).
- DCA Tyre 658. HGC 10, 357. RPC I 4675.Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre CY 20 (107/106 BC)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel Dated CY 20 (107/6 BC).
O: Bust of Melkart right, wearing laurel wreath, lion skin around neck
R: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond in background; to left, LK (date) above club; monogram to right, Phoenician Bet between legs; TYPOY IEPAΣ KAI AΣYΛOY around.
- Rouvier 1997 var. (letter between legs); HGC 10, 357; DCA 919; BMC 91–2.Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre CY 24 (103/102 BC)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel Dated CY 24 (103/2 BC).
O: Bust of Melkart right, wearing laurel wreath, lion skin around neck
R: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond in background; to left, ΔK (date) above club; monogram to right, Phoenician Bet between legs; TYPOY IEPAΣ KAI AΣYΛOY around.
Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre CY 30 (97/96)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (31.52mm, 13.88 gm). Dated CY 30 (97/6 BC).
O: Laureate bust of Melkart right
R: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond behind; to left, LΛ (date) above club; monogram to right, Phoenician aleph between legs.
- DCA-Tyre 74; Rouvier 2013; BMC 116-7; DCA 919; HGC 10, 357. Ex-SpinkNemonater
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Shekel Tyre CY 31 (96/5 BC)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel. Dated CY 31 (96/5 BC).
O: Laureate head of Melkart right, wearing lion skin around neck
R: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond in background; to left, AΛ (date) above club; delta to right, B (in Phoenician) between legs.
- DCA-Tyre 114; HGC 10, 357; DCA 919Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre CY 38 (89/88 BC)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-65 AD. AR Shekel Dated CY 38 (89/88 BC).
O: Laureate head of Melkart right
R: TΥΡIOΥ IEΡAΣ KAI AΣΥΛOΥ, eagle standing left on prow; HΛ and club to left, Phoenician letter between legs, monogram to right.
- Well struck in high reliefNemonater
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Shekel Tyre CY 40 (87/86 BC)PHOENICIA. Tyre. Ca. 126 BC-AD 65. AR shekel (29.97mm, 14.29 gm) Dated CY 40 (87/6 BC).
O: Laureate bust of Melqart right
R: ΤΥPΟΥ ΙΕΡΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΣΥΛΟΥ, eagle standing left on prow, palm over its wing; LM (date) and club to left, monogram to right, Phoenician B between legs. Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre Dated CY 125 (2/1 BC)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (25.5mm, 12.08 g, 1h).
Dated CY 125 (2/1 BC).
O: Laureate head of Melkart right, lion skin around neck.
R: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond in background; to left, PKE (date) above club; to right, KP above monogram; Phoenician B between legs.
-DCA-Tyre 450; HGC 10, 357; DCA 920.Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre RY 172 46/47 ADPhoenicia. Tyre. Year 172 = 46/47 AD. Shekel, 14.42g. (h).
O: Laureate bust of Melqarth right.
R: ΤΥΡΟΥ ΙΕΡΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΣΥΛΟΥ Eagle standing left with right foot on prow of ship and palm branch over right shoulder. In left field, date POB and club. In right field, KP over monogram (Θ M). Phoenician letter beth between legs of eagle. Border of dots.
- DCA Tyre Release 2 Part 1, 644 this coin, RPC 4672. Prieur 1433. BMC 207.ex Gemini IX Lot 169 2012Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre Year 128 (2/3 CE)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel. Dated CY 128 (2/3 CE).
O: Laureate bust of Melkart right, wearing lion’s skin around his neck
R: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond behind; to left, PKH (date) above club; Z to right, Phoenician aleph between legs.
- DCA Sup. No. 307, RPC I Suppl. 4650b. Cf. BMC Phoenicia 233.Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre Year 142 (16/17 CE)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel. Dated CY 142 (16/17 CE).
O: Laureate bust of Melkart right
R: Eagle standing left on prow, palm frond over right wing; to left, PMB (date) above club; to right, KP above monogram; Phoenician B between legs.
- Rouvier -; BMC -; RPC I Suppl. 4688A.Nemonater
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Shekel Tyre Year 178 (52/53 CE)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel. Dated CY POH (52/53 CE).
O: Laureate bust of Melkart right
R: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond behind; to left, POH (date) above club; monogram KP to right, Phoenician Bet between legs.
- DCA Sup. No. 430 (This coin)Nemonater
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Shekel, PHOENICIA, Tyre. CY 51 (76/75 BC)PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (27mm, 13.82 g). Dated CY 51 (76/75 BC). The letter A may have been engraved over another letter.
O: Laureate bust of Melkart right R: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond over right wing; to left, AN (the date on this coin is very likely re-engraved) above club; D to right; b between legs. - No. 129 plate coin in Cohen's 2014 Supplement. Nemonater
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Tyre, Shekel, Year 161 (35/36 AD) Struck on a Folded FlanPHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (23mm, 14.31 g, 1h). Dated CY 161 (AD 35/36).
O: Laureate head of Melkart right, lion skin around neck
R: Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond in background; to left, PΞA (date) above club; to right, KP above monogram; Phoenician letter between legs.
- DCA-Tyre 592; RPC I 4665; HGC 10, 357; DCA 920; Prieur 1425.
A very interesting coin that reveals the flan production process. The flan of an earlier coin was folded over two or three times before striking the new coin. This folding resulted in a thick planchet and a much smaller diameter than the die. It also created the odd triangular shape and sandwiching seen on the sides of the coin. The last fold was never properly heated and hammered, resulting in the slight separation of the layers on the reverse.
This is the same way the Pi-style tetradrachms of 353-340 BC were prepared.
 Nemonater
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Virtual Tray of Philip II, Alexander III and the DiadochiPhilip II, Alexander III, Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus and Kassander.Nemonater
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