Alexander the great coin I purchased
Qwertyuiopgsggs
Posts: 89 ✭
Really cool coin that I got at a reasonable price, what is the main indicator that it is a lifetime issue? Also the obverse and reverse is not aligned at all, is this normal?
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@Sapyx
Do you think you can help me?
typically the lifetime issues have uncrossed legs however there are crossed leg lifetimes and uncrossed posthumous issues. the reverse detail makes it tough to confirm yours is indeed lifetime. Either way they are cool. And yours looks authentic but a peek of the edge would help, along with the weight. Did the seller provide the coin's attribution?
@jdillane
Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately I do not have an accurate enough scale to find the exact weight. The seller sold me for a lower price than it was listed because he said he could not tell if it was a lifetime issue or not. He is from Switzerland and was trying to sell two of these, but the other one was almost completely smooth so I offered only for this one and he accepted.
I included a picture of the edge, the area near the top of the head is thicker than the rest of the coin, which my guess is the usual?
As jdillane says, the general rule is that "uncrossed legs = lifetime issue".
Also, the rule generally applies to tetradrachms, and this is a drachm, if I'm judging the size of your thumbs correctly? In any event, I don't think there's enough clarity for the mintmarks and other features, to be able to judge one way or another for this coin.
Die alignment for most ancient coins is pretty much random. That's what you get when your tools are all hand-held.
There are some later Greek, Roman and Provincial coin types that always seem to have consistent alignment; it's speculated those coins were struck using dies that were attached together in some kind of hinged box arrangement.
Yes, coin thickness is also fairly random, at least in part because the die alignments are random. But I have noticed that Hellenistic-era coins typically have this wedge-shaped profile.
Ancient coins were not designed to be counted by stacking them up into piles and stacks, like modern coins are. They were either measured by weight and not individually counted at all, or they were counted like rocks: one by one, in little piles. It's not until the Late Roman period that we see the invention of "stackable" coins.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
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@Sapyx
Alright thank you for the information, really helpful. I included a picture of the coin compared to a US nickel and a ruler to give it a better size idea. I also tried to take a better picture of the reverse, Zeus’ legs seem too far apart to be crossed, what is your opinion?
Unfortunately, I'm in Australia and don't have ready access to US nickels, nor a non-metric ruler, but if I'm recalling my conversions correctly, that ought to be a drachm.
As far as I can tell, I'd agree, the legs aren't crossed, so most likely a lifetime issue. But again, not an expert. That little monogram - looks kind of like a Chinese character, but more likely xi-iota - that's beneath the chair may assist with dating, but that's far outside my knowledge sphere. Couldn't find a match in my quick Google searching, but a few similar, like this one: https://www.colleconline.com/en/items/129930/coin-ancient-b-to-greek-alexander-iii-ar-drachm
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded one DPOTD.
@Sapyx
Once again thank you for your help. I also have been looking everywhere to try to find this monogram, but I seriously cannot find it. I might have to make a separate post to see it anyone recognizes it. Im very glad it shows signs of being a lifetime issue because I got it at a discount for only $40 plus shipping.