Ancient Greece (Macedonian Kingdom): silver tetradrachm of Alexander III ("the Great"), po

lordmarcovan

Ancient Greece (Macedonian Kingdom): silver tetradrachm of Alexander III ("the Great"), posthumous issue, ca. 205-200 BC

Macedonian Kingdom, posthumous silver tetradrachm in the name of Alexander III 'the Great' (336-323 BC). Struck at Herakleia Pontika in Asia Minor, circa 205-200 B.C.
Obverse: head of Herakles right, wearing headdress made from the skin of the Nemean lion. Reverse: name of Alexander; Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter; two monograms in left field; club in exergue. Die break in exergue.
Price 1284A, 31 mm, 16.72 g.Ex- Triskeles Auctions, Sale Number 315, Lot 33, 4/23/2015.

This posthumous "Alexander the Great" tetradrachm caught my eye for its sharp detail and attractive toning, so I bid on it and won it for exactly the predetermined maximum bid I had in mind. This is the second Alexander tetradrachm I've owned and by far the superior of the two. Alexander's fame was so widespread throughout the ancient world that many kingdoms were still striking coins with his name and image more than a century after his death.



Original auction listing

Wikipedia links:
Heraklea Pontika
Alexander the Great
Herakles/Hercules
Nemean lion
Zeus

When posted here, this coin was part of my "Eclectic Box of 20" collection.

Swampboy

Congrats.
Looks like you got an attractive piece for an attractive price.

I like that reverse. The die break adds a lot of interest and my goodness Zeus looks ripped,...eerrr... hammered, as can be.

nicholasz219

That's a really nice coin, LM. I am still on the lookout for an Alex III silver drachm or tetradrachm since I got that funny one a few months ago. I saw this in the VAuctions sale and thought about it but I figured it would go well over estimate and the estimate would have been a reach for me right now as it was.

I think you got a great coin there and for a pretty good price as Swampboy said. The toning on the reverse especially is very attractive.

7Jaguars

Nice coin there LM & looks like an expanding ancient collection for you as well. Don't you find it suspicious when one coin, or perhaps three or four mysteriously are sold to you at your max bid (makes me think of Stacks 10-20 years ago).

lordmarcovan

<< <i>looks like an expanding ancient collection for you as well >>

Well, when I started the Box of 20 thing, it was practically ALL ancients, most of which were refugees from my old Roman Twelve Caesars set (much of which ended up going to live with NiceCurrency.)

Eventually my ancients went away, but they're starting to come back a little. Now that I'm not just limited to Roman Imperials, I can feel free to add some Greeks and some Roman Republicans, which have nicer designs anyway.



<< <i>Don't you find it suspicious when one coin, or perhaps three or four mysteriously are sold to you at your max bid (makes me think of Stacks 10-20 years ago). >>

I really don't have enough non-eBay auction experience to have noticed that. I did notice that this auction seemed to jump increments so that my max bid automatically became THE max bid on the lot, so apparently there was no proxy bid system like eBay and you end up paying your max regardless? Whatever the case, if there had been one more bid I'd have been out of there. It was sort of a "snipe" in that I placed my second and final bid in the last ten minutes. My first bid was much too low and I knew it would be, but it was a "marker" bid. I'm probably gonna do that on CNG too, since they seem to lack a watchlist feature.

Zohar

I like it - attractive!

Aethelred

I bought an Alexander The Great Tetradrachm yesterday as well. Mine is Babylon Mint 324-323 BC (the time and place where Alexander died).

Zohar

Aethelred - very nice!

lordmarcovan

Nicely centered coin with an appealing look, O Dead King. Lotsa bang for the buck in the history department, too!

Funny how we both bought Alexander tets within a few hours of each other, for almost the same amount.

I think mine gets the edge a bit in grade while yours places slightly higher on the historical appeal scale.

I think I like yours about as much as mine for those very different reasons.

Aethelred

Thank you Z, I've been searching for one from the time and place where Alexander died and that had the look I was after. I figured these were common enough that I could be patient and wait for the right example to show up.

lordmarcovan

This can be a "Post Your Alexanders" thread, as far as I'm concerned.

Post 'em!

(Yes, even you, Smeagle, though you're bound to put us all to shame.)

asheland

TIF2

Lordy, that's a nice coin!

SmEagle1795

Great coin, lord! The obverse centering on the rather broad flan and hair detail make it very appealing.



<< <i>(Yes, even you, Smeagle, though you're bound to put us all to shame.) >>



Here's my lifetime tetradrachm:



Also perhaps of interest is a more recent purchase of mine, a Kamarina tetradrachm. This type served as the stylistic base for the ATG tetradrachms, minted about 100 years earlier:

lordmarcovan

Hmm... it would seem the content of this thread just improved rather exponentially in quality...

NiceCurrency

everything in here is wonderful

nice additions folks

EVillageProwler

<< <i>Congrats.
Looks like you got an attractive piece for an attractive price.

I like that reverse. The die break adds a lot of interest and my goodness Zeus looks ripped,...eerrr... hammered, as can be. >>



I have no substantial contribution to this thread other than to say "++" to the quoted text.

And, to say that the other coins look quite delicious too.

(to all)

Zohar

Aethelred

Love the color on yours SmEagle.

Swampboy

My posthumous drachm. Kolophon mint

Hussulo

Great example Lord M. I always wanted to own one if these.

Zohar

My Memphis Mint piece -

Aethelred

Good BBQ in Memphis, much better than Alexandria BBQ.