Sharing pictures of Alexander III The Great Gold Stater
mercurydimeguy
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Never posted on this forum before, I've been collecting US classic coins. Bought about 3 ancients in the past year/two and really started to take an interest. Been hunting down a nice example of the coin pictured below and finally connected on one.
I took my first stab at imaging a coin with such high relief. I have yet to dabble in "focus stacking" but will have to learn how if I am going start collecting ancients (I think I'm hooked now)...this is a good coin for me to experiment with. It's a little out of focus, I know, I need to setup my lighting differently and learn how to take 8-10 images at different field depths and merge them together...I'll get there.
Also, learning how to crop a coin that is not perfectly round is challenging
I took my first stab at imaging a coin with such high relief. I have yet to dabble in "focus stacking" but will have to learn how if I am going start collecting ancients (I think I'm hooked now)...this is a good coin for me to experiment with. It's a little out of focus, I know, I need to setup my lighting differently and learn how to take 8-10 images at different field depths and merge them together...I'll get there.
Also, learning how to crop a coin that is not perfectly round is challenging
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many people getting bit by the ancient bug lately
do you have any info on it to share with us?
a lifetime issue?
World Collection
British Collection
German States Collection
A forum member here has been kind in sharing some research sources for me so I'll write up the coin info once I get a moment.
This coin below is so cool in hand. My wife/daughter saw it and said, "no way!!" Coin looks like it was minted yesterday. Dripping with luster. It's nearly a center strike too which is amazing.
Anyhow thank you for your encouragement. I'll also image some of the other coins and share them. My ancient collection is meager, just a few coins, but I could see it growing over time. I'll try to focus on getting interesting coins with eye appeal...they also make great conversation pieces
I couldn't help myself and found your coin in Martin J. Price's, The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus: A British Museum Catalogue. Which is the current standard reference for ATG coins.
Price reference # 1559.
Abydus(?) mint. Price added the ? because Abydus is a tentative attribution. Although he does say that the mint was probably in the general area of Lampsacus.
mercurydimeguy - you will find that with ancients many times the mint is not known for certain. For example, even Alexander's very large output at the "Babylon" mint may actually be from the Susa mint. (Which I also believe.)
ME monogram with scallop shell.
c. 310 - 301 BC
Here is another Golden Oldie from Alexander:
Alexander the Great of Macedonia - Gold Stater - Babylon
Helmeted head of Athena facing right with griffin or serpent on helmet
Nike standing left, holding wreath, MI on left, monogram in wreath below right wing
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ (King Alexander)
Struck (Posthumous) c. BC 311-305, Babylon mint
Weight: 8.56gm, diameter approx 20mm
Listed in Price's book as number 3749.
Bought this one in 2011 from Harlan J. Berk of Chicago.
It was expensive but I love the design, a real work of ancient art.
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Nice piece.
I decided that I was going to collect coins with Nike on them (a project for my son and me), and we also love pomegranates, and this one had both. A two for one deal
I need to dig up my other 3 coins and image them at some point.
I tried focus stacking on this coin also, and it worked fairly well.
PS. I remember I still owe a writeup on focus stacking and cropping so I'll post that soon. I didn't use the cropping approach on this image...as I was going to re-shoot it later anyway.
The ancients that people are sharing lately on this forum are out of this world!
DPOTD-3
'Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery'
CU #3245 B.N.A. #428
Don