I Have Been Eagerly Awaiting This Package From Belgium, Open It With Me.

Aethelred

When you are a coin geek, and let's be honest we all are, there are few things that are as exciting as getting a coin in the mail. This excitement was further heightened for me because this package came from Europe and I did not have a tracking number so I had no idea when I would get it (or even when it was sent). In addition I have been reading a few books about Alexander The Great of late. He and the vast empire he conquered have been in my thoughts. I have been debating with myself about Alexander and his achievements, on the one hand I believe he can be regarded as the greatest military leader and the greatest empire builder in all of human history. Under his leadership his tiny Greek kingdom of Macedonia vanquished what was then the world's great superpower, the Persian Empire. I do not think there was anyone living in 336 BC when twenty year old Alexander took the Macedonian throne who could have imagined that outcome. Certainly the Persian Emperor Darius III did not view Alexander as a serious rival, at least not at first. After Alexander invaded Asia Minor and met Darius in battle at Issus, a battle in which Alexander captured the wife and children of Darius, the Persian Emperor sent a letter to Alexander requesting the return of his wife and children as a gesture of good will from one great king to another. In his reply Alexander warned Darius to never address him as a equal again, he told Darius that all that he called his own now belonged to Alexander. Alexander went on to win every battle he fought, to conquer everything that he saw, to take every acre that he passed over. By the time he was thirty years old he had built the greatest empire the world had ever know and his deeds have never been surpassed. In that regard calling him a success seems to fall far short of his almost god-like deeds.

However, this vast empire of his only survived for two years. In Babylon, in the very throne room recently occupied by Darius III, the same throne room in which the last Babylonian ruler, Belshazzar was killed by the invading Persians two hundred years before, the same throne room from which Nebuchadnezzar once reigned, in that same room Alexander took ill in late May of 323 BC during a feast. Within two weeks the body of the thirty-two year old Macedonian king and ruler of the known world was lowered into a gold coffin filled with honey. Almost as soon as he passed his last breath his empire shattered into pieces. In a few years his brother, wife and only child, Alexander IV, would be dead as well, killed by rivals to a throne that no longer came with an empire. As a person, as a husband and father, I can not see Alexander in a positive light. While everything he touched whet his way in life, as soon as he died all he had built, all he cared about, everything his life was about, vanished like a vapor. As a man, Alexander The Great is a pitiful figure to me. He was never content, never truly happy and although he ruled the world it can truly be said that he had no place that was home to him.

Now, I would like to invite you to look over my shoulder as I open this package from Belgium. Here is the sight that I beheld when I opened my PO Box this morning:



I had other stops to make today, so I resisted the urge to cut it open right there in the post office parking lot. I visited my parents for a while, bought a new gas can from Home Depot and mowed my lawn. Only then did I allow myself to indulge in the profound numismatic pleasure of cutting open this envelope:



I have been looking for the right Tetradrachm of Alexander The Great for quite some time. I had very specific requirements and figured I could be selective as there are no shortage of these to pick from. I wanted one that was minted during Alexander's lifetime, they continued to be minted for well over a century after his death. I was also looking for an example to appealed to me with regard to condition and style, many have a very "baggy" look and I wanted to avoid that. I preferred one that was minted in Babylon as that is where Alexander died. Over the months I bid on several without success and in some cases that was a blessing because most of those were lacking in at least one or two of the areas that were important to me. Finally, after much longer than the quest should have taken I found this example in the inventory of a European dealer and made him an offer on it.



This coin was minted in the last months, perhaps the last days of Alexander's life. I told my wife that while Alexander lay dying in his Babylonian palace this coin was being minted across town.

Alexander The Great, AR Tetradrachm, Issued 324-323 BC, Babylon Mint. It is 26mm in diameter with a weight of 15.7g Price-3640

I hope you enjoyed opening it along with me, maybe we can do this again soon?

HoledandCreative

A fantastic piece of history!!

Tookybandit

Congratulations!

JCMhouston

Very nice, now a cigar and a glass of wine.

Swampboy

What a wonderful write up.
Thanks for that.

When I was in grammar school my lovely old aunt would let me take books from her bookshelf when she thought I was old enough to read them.
In seventh grade I was so fascinated by Harold Lamb's Alexander of Macedon I read and re-read it several times.

I hope to find a nice tet like that sometime soon.

Zohar

This is super cool. I know the feeling you are talking about!

NiceCurrency

nice coin but I recommend not having coin or money or currency etc as part of your address

also, I recommend reading about Philip II, he really set it all up for his son to do what he did, not to shortchange Alexander but Philip was an accomplished due himself

I recommend Philip II of Macedonia: Greater than Alexander

nicholasz219

That was fun Aethelred! I had a misfire with a drachm of Alex III a few months back that was terribly disappointing even though I did receive a refund after some helpful people gave me advice on the piece. But I still look forward to adding a drachm (lifetime too, for sure) and then a tetradrachm later on. Great coin and history.

I agree with the above statement about leaving off any "coins" in your mailing address or even outgoing mail labels. I just sent a note to a seller of some coins that I received today in the mail that while I was very happy with the coins, he should reconsider having his return address starting with Bob's Awesome Coins or whatever because of two reasons: 1) coins stolen from mail; and 2) people knowing that for some reason there are coins going into my house tends to lead to my house getting robbed.

LochNESS

<< <i>nice coin but I recommend not having coin or money or currency etc as part of your address … >>

If the box is rented in the business name, this may be unavoidable, as the name on the box must appear in the address line. I've had letters returned to sender because they addressed to my business (and my PO box is rented under my personal name). Anyway ... registered mail ... safe bet IMO but that's just 2¢

coinkat

What a fun experience- nice coin too

Stork

What a terrific find...well worth the hunt.

EVillageProwler

<< <i>Very nice, now a cigar and a glass of wine. >>



Concur!

EVillageProwler

Alexander went on to win every battle he fought, to conquer everything that he saw, to take every acre that he passed over.

Is this actually true?

I'm asking because the Indians (the people of South Asia east of Persia) have claimed pride in being the only people who defeated AtG. I forget the historical details of his not getting past the lands that is now modern day Afghanistan. Were the folks on the east side of Khyber just as adept at using that for defense as the people on the west side of it? AtG supposedly founded Kandahar, so that means he could've crossed into the sub-continent from the south.

Anyone able to fill in the details for me please?

EVP

SaorAlba

<< <i>Alexander went on to win every battle he fought, to conquer everything that he saw, to take every acre that he passed over.

Is this actually true?

I'm asking because the Indians (the people of South Asia east of Persia) have claimed pride in being the only people who defeated AtG. I forget the historical details of his not getting past the lands that is now modern day Afghanistan. Were the folks on the east side of Khyber just as adept at using that for defense as the people on the west side of it? AtG supposedly founded Kandahar, so that means he could've crossed into the sub-continent from the south.

Anyone able to fill in the details for me please?

EVP >>



No one being victorious there wouldn't surprise me - heck, the British, the Russians and the Americans couldn't control Afghanistan.

Aethelred

<< <i>Alexander went on to win every battle he fought, to conquer everything that he saw, to take every acre that he passed over.

Is this actually true?

I'm asking because the Indians (the people of South Asia east of Persia) have claimed pride in being the only people who defeated AtG. I forget the historical details of his not getting past the lands that is now modern day Afghanistan. Were the folks on the east side of Khyber just as adept at using that for defense as the people on the west side of it? AtG supposedly founded Kandahar, so that means he could've crossed into the sub-continent from the south.

Anyone able to fill in the details for me please?

EVP >>



I believe (and I am no expert on Afghanistan so if anyone has better information I am ready to learn) that while Alexander's armies took loses from ambushes and guerrilla warfare that he did not lose any battles and that he could claim control of the areas that he invaded for the two years between the eastern campaign and his death.

ajaan

What's the big tado about a coin made in Romania in the 1960s?

EVillageProwler

I'm not asking about AtG's successes west of Khyber (in what is now Afghanistan), but why he couldn't push on into Pakistan/India? I am of the belief that he tried but failed, but don't recall the details.

Aethelred

<< <i>I'm not asking about AtG's successes west of Khyber (in what is now Afghanistan), but why he couldn't push on into Pakistan/India? I am of the belief that he tried but failed, but don't recall the details. >>



Didn't his own troops refuse to advance at about that point? I seem to recall a mutiny of sorts. On his return to Babylon after the eastern campaign he did (or had planned to) replace 10,000 of his Macedonian troops with Persians.

Hussulo

Very nice indeed. Its great being able to open it with you. Thanks for sharing.

7Jaguars

Well, he went on to defeat Porus who famously had a larger army AND elephants and thus did "crush" into the Indian sub-continent - what are they talking about?

FilamCoins

Awesome!

astrorat

Nice post ... thanks for sharing the experience with us.

NiceCurrency

this is a fantastic coin and I didn't mean to take away from that with my earlier post, any lifetime Alexander is a wonderful addition, one from the babylon mint in his final days in this condition! what a beaut

asheland

Great thread and coin!
The history associated with it makes that coin so much more enjoyable!
I agree that patience is key, wait for that perfect example. I couldn't agree more!

Aethelred

<< <i>this is a fantastic coin and I didn't mean to take away from that with my earlier post, any lifetime Alexander is a wonderful addition, one from the babylon mint in his final days in this condition! what a beaut >>



Not at all, in fact I thought your earlier post about Philip II was worthy of a better reply than I had the attention to give it, so I have been waiting. I have seen the book you reference and have a few thoughts on Philip vs. Alexander. Maybe tonight.

Aethelred

<< <i>

also, I recommend reading about Philip II, he really set it all up for his son to do what he did, not to shortchange Alexander but Philip was an accomplished due himself

I recommend Philip II of Macedonia: Greater than Alexander >>



I often wonder about historic "what if" situations. What if Philip II had not been assassinated in 336 BC? What if Alexander had not died in 323 BC at the age of 32?

It is a historic fact that Philip was making preparations to invade the Persian Empire, how far he would have taken this and what measure of success he would have met with are up for debate.

There is no doubt that Philip was a wise commander, one of the best military leaders of the ancient world in fact. However, he was in his mid 50s at the time of his death and it is hard to see him launching a 12 year campaign like Alexander did. Had he lived, Philip would have been 68 in 323 BC (when Alexander died). Alexander was 20 when he became king in 336 BC, by their very nature 20 year olds are more daring (or reckless) than 56 year olds. I believe Philip would have invaded Western Asia Minor (and taken it like Alexander did, he very well might have taken all of Asia Minor. It is harder for me to see him advancing to Egypt, harder still to see him invading the heart of the Persian Empire or moving even further east.

Alexander was by all accounts very gifted in military matters, he had an ability to know just where to strike at just the perfect time and where and when to ease off. However, Alexander did not have the same gifts of ruling an empire once he had conquered it, the revolts by his troops show this. Had Alexander lived beyond 32, I believe history would have recorded this weakness. He was already showing sings of paranoia and a loss of stability. Setting all that aside, I believe his empire was too large and diverse to sustain for long.

What do you think?

marcmoish

Nice post ... thanks for sharing the experience with us.

yup!

EVillageProwler

<< <i>What do you think? >>



Empire building is tough in the best of situations. Those that develop nationhood with true citizenship will have greater durability, but it is still hard. China is a nation by any modern definition with citizenship, and yet it has its internal problems even discounting the more visible ethnic minorities like those in Tibet and the far west province of Xinjiang.

Macedonia, and Greece, had no nation but we're rather a dominant city with subordinate cities, regions and peoples. That territory will be kept together only as long as there is a strongman able to keep them together. An ancient state like the Macedonian Empire will fracture much more so than China or even Persia because China and Persia have a much stronger sense of citizenship.

determined

Nice post Aethelred!

Lifetime Babylons are my favorite of the lifetime Alexanders. Die studies show that yours belongs to the huge issue of Babylon coins that were made over a relatively short time. (Price's so called Babylon Second Group, c. 325-323 BC.) It is rightly assumed that this huge amount of coins were made in preparation to pay the years of back pay of the soldiers when they returned from the East/India. I have a few of them and I like to think they went from the mint directly into some soldier's hands. You could say that these are a collector's connection to Alexander's army.

The Babylon die engravers had a wonderful style. And these coins were made from silver captured from the huge Persian treasury which had been accumulating treasure since the time of Cyrus the Great. The amount of treasure that Alexander captured was astronomical. And most of it was turned into Alexander's coins. Such a great amount of coins were made, that is why so many Alexander coins have survived until today.

Aethelred

<< <i>Nice post Aethelred!

Lifetime Babylons are my favorite of the lifetime Alexanders. Die studies show that yours belongs to the huge issue of Babylon coins that were made over a relatively short time. (Price's so called Babylon Second Group, c. 325-323 BC.) It is rightly assumed that this huge amount of coins were made in preparation to pay the years of back pay of the soldiers when they returned from the East/India. I have a few of them and I like to think they went from the mint directly into some soldier's hands. You could say that these are a collector's connection to Alexander's army.

The Babylon die engravers had a wonderful style. And these coins were made from silver captured from the huge Persian treasury which had been accumulating treasure since the time of Cyrus the Great. The amount of treasure that Alexander captured was astronomical. And most of it was turned into Alexander's coins. Such a great amount of coins were made, that is why so many Alexander coins have survived until today. >>



This is the kind of post these forums were made for and that keep me coming back after all these years.

I did not know that this issue was probably used to pay troops returning from the east. I can now picture this coin in the hands of one of Alexander's veterans standing outside the palace as word was spreading that Alexander had died and after reading "Ghost on the Throne" by James Romm, I have such a vivid picture in my mind of what scene was like.

I would love to have the Martin Price book on the coins of Alexander and Philip III, but Macedonian coins make up only a small and non-central part of my collection so it is hard to justify spending over $800 for it. However, I did just get his more basic "Coins of the Macedonians" which I hope will be an interesting read.

Thank you for your post.