Generally all coins contain the inscription “ALEXANDROU”, meaning “of Alexander”, although in some cases the title “BASILEWS” is added meaning “of King” or “Great King”. The variety of ways one can collect the coinage of Alexander are numerous. Alexander the Great lifetime tetradrachm from Amphipolis, Macedonia, c. 336-326 BC, 17.1g, M.J. Price 5, Troxell A2, SNG Cop. This was likely among the first imperial coins Alexander issued. Alexander for recruiting his army in preparation for the invasion of the Persian Empire. All lifetime Alexander. Alexander the Great lifetime tetradrachm from Amphipolis, Macedonia, c. 336-326 BC, 17.1g, M.J. Price 5, Troxell A2, SNG Cop. This was likely among the first imperial coins Alexander issued. This and similar coins may have been issued by Alexander for recruiting his army in preparation for the invasion of the Persian Empire. Macedonian Kingdom, Alexander the Great, 336 - 323 B.C., Kalchedon, Bithynia Countermark Similar head (some Demeter, some Apollo, possibly some Persephone) with K or KA monogram countermarks were found along with coins countermarked at Byzantium in the Buyukcekmece Hoard.
Alexander The Great Coin Ring
Ancient Greece Alexander the Great Drachm and Stater 336BC to 250BC
Before going into detail with this coin, it is a necessity to point out how brilliantly thorough Dankin has been in his description of the coin. Not only is our work made easier from such an excellent description, but it also assures that the coin is identified and attributed as accurately as possible.
Dankin's coin bears the inscription 'AΛEΞAN∆POY', and was minted in the name of Alexander III of Macedonia, also known as Alexander the Great. Yes, the Alexander the Great!
The coins which have Zeus seated with a bird on the reverse have the helmeted head of Heracles on the obverse. Alexander ruled from 336 to 323 B.C., but these coins continued to be minted well after his death, some as late as 250 B.C.
The coins were minted in the drachm and stater denominations. The drachms are silver, while the staters are gold.
DRACHMS:
worn: $50 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $150
well preserved: $300
STATERS:
worn: $1500 approximate catalog value
average circulated: $2200
well preserved: $3000
These coins, especially the staters, are commonly counterfeited. It would be wise to take your coin to a coin shop, where a professional numismatist can examine the coin in-hand, and hopefully determine its authenticity.
Be sure to check out the 'Important Terminology' page on the menu on the top left. The term 'catalog value' is somewhat a weasel word.
Dankin's coin bears the inscription 'AΛEΞAN∆POY', and was minted in the name of Alexander III of Macedonia, also known as Alexander the Great. Yes, the Alexander the Great!
The coins which have Zeus seated with a bird on the reverse have the helmeted head of Heracles on the obverse. Alexander ruled from 336 to 323 B.C., but these coins continued to be minted well after his death, some as late as 250 B.C.
The coins were minted in the drachm and stater denominations. The drachms are silver, while the staters are gold.
DRACHMS:
worn: $50 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $150
well preserved: $300
STATERS:
worn: $1500 approximate catalog value
average circulated: $2200
well preserved: $3000
These coins, especially the staters, are commonly counterfeited. It would be wise to take your coin to a coin shop, where a professional numismatist can examine the coin in-hand, and hopefully determine its authenticity.
Be sure to check out the 'Important Terminology' page on the menu on the top left. The term 'catalog value' is somewhat a weasel word.
Coin: 14691, Genre: Ancient, Timeline: Ancient
Created (yyyymm): 201305, Last review: 201504
Appearance: Normal round coin Metallic gray Metallic yellow Letters: Latin
Years: sort: -336, filter: -336 to -250
Image: ancient_alexander_drachm.jpg
Original inquiry: the coin is bronze or gold looking, and about the size of a dime. i am unsure of the composition. i'm going to use a '?' mark in place of illegible characters in the inscription located on the back of the coin. the following inscription is one word: ?aeianapoy. now i am going to repeat the same inscription with '?' marks representing letters i am unsure of due to wear on the coin ie. (they may be incorrect but i tried my best to guess.) ?a??anapoy. on the back of the coin the mintmark appears to be 'ai' located under the stool i am about to describe. the back of the coin depicts a shirtless man, facing to the left, sitting on a stool with his legs extended, he is wearing slack pants and some kind of small head cover. he appears to have a small beard. in his left hand he is grasping a staff that extends from the top of the coin vertically all the way to the bottom. a small bird is perched on his horizontally extended right arm. below his right arm there is some kind of symbol resembling a figure 8 or a capital cursive letter j. on the front of the coin a left facing womans head dominates the entire surface and is protruding, raised from the face of the coin. she appears to have some kind of headdress. stater drachm alexandroy aeianapoy alexander alexandros anapoy zeus heracles herakles angel god goddess scepter stick rod staff bird small wreath circle ring
Created (yyyymm): 201305, Last review: 201504
Appearance: Normal round coin Metallic gray Metallic yellow Letters: Latin
Years: sort: -336, filter: -336 to -250
Image: ancient_alexander_drachm.jpg
Original inquiry: the coin is bronze or gold looking, and about the size of a dime. i am unsure of the composition. i'm going to use a '?' mark in place of illegible characters in the inscription located on the back of the coin. the following inscription is one word: ?aeianapoy. now i am going to repeat the same inscription with '?' marks representing letters i am unsure of due to wear on the coin ie. (they may be incorrect but i tried my best to guess.) ?a??anapoy. on the back of the coin the mintmark appears to be 'ai' located under the stool i am about to describe. the back of the coin depicts a shirtless man, facing to the left, sitting on a stool with his legs extended, he is wearing slack pants and some kind of small head cover. he appears to have a small beard. in his left hand he is grasping a staff that extends from the top of the coin vertically all the way to the bottom. a small bird is perched on his horizontally extended right arm. below his right arm there is some kind of symbol resembling a figure 8 or a capital cursive letter j. on the front of the coin a left facing womans head dominates the entire surface and is protruding, raised from the face of the coin. she appears to have some kind of headdress. stater drachm alexandroy aeianapoy alexander alexandros anapoy zeus heracles herakles angel god goddess scepter stick rod staff bird small wreath circle ring
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By Kent Ponterio
Regarded by many historians as the greatest military commander that ever lived, by the age of 32 Alexander III of Macedon had conquered and controlled most of the known world. At the time of his death in 323 B.C. his empire spanned over three continents covering approximately two million square miles incorporating parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. The coinage of Alexander is as vast and encompassing as the empire he controlled. During his lifetime, at least 25 different mints produced coinage in his name. As major cities were conquered or assimilated into his empire, those with major or strategic mints ceased production of local coinage and many began striking that in the name of Alexander. Often local coinage would be gathered from circulation, melted down and re-coined into that of Alexander’s (especially those in the name of deposed kings). His coinage saw such great circulation and was met with such acceptance that it continued to be produced and circulated for centuries after his death. In fact more mints were in operation producing coinage after he was deceased, than during his actual lifetime.
The coinage of Alexander can be considered a unified coinage of standard type, not that dissimilar from modern coinage produced in countries with multiple mints. For instance the United States produced Morgan dollars between 1878 and 1921 of a standard design. Although there are some minor characteristics in the dies, the main factor in determining where the coins were produced are the Mint Marks. Roobet gambling. Such is the case with the coins of Alexander as they contain symbols and monograms as distinguishing factors in determining their mint of manufacture.
The design elements of the coins themselves are fairly simplistic and straightforward. That being said, they carried a powerful meaning both politically and religiously. The obverse of most silver issues contained a youthful head of Herakles wearing the skin of the Nemean lion. Alexander often claimed he was the son of the god Zeus, comparing himself to the fabled Greek heroes Achilles and Herakles. Some authors have even speculated that the portrait of Herakles on the obverse is actually that of Alexander himself. The reverse of these silver issues depict Zeus seated in a throne holding an eagle and scepter. This again references to Alexander being the living son of Zeus. Although equally meaningful, the design elements of Alexander’s gold coinage differed drastically from that of the silver. With the exception of some of the fractional denominations, the obverse of the gold coinage depicts a representation of the Greek goddess Athena wearing a crested Corinthian style helmet. Although known for being the goddess of many things, the two Athena is most renowned for is the goddess of war and wisdom. Alexander was extremely intelligent and of higher education having been schooled by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Choosing this depiction of Athena clearly held great meaning as not only was Alexander highly educated and skilled, he was undefeated on the battlefield. The reverse of these gold issues depicts Nike the winged goddess of victory holding a laurel wreath and stylis or naval standard. The depiction of Nike on Greek coinage is a frequently used motif. Often she is found crowning the victor of a chariot race with a laurel wreath on various issues. Her representation here suggests that Alexander is not only a successful general, but also a victorious naval commander. The legends found on the reverse of the coins are fairly standard with some variations in placement. Generally all coins contain the inscription “ALEXANDROU”, meaning “of Alexander”, although in some cases the title “BASILEWS” is added meaning “of King” or “Great King”.
Ancient Coins
The variety of ways one can collect the coinage of Alexander are numerous. While some collectors seek a single coin as a representative example, others collect by denomination or mint. Important and historically significant mints such as Babylon where Alexander died or Memphis where he was crowned Pharaoh of Egypt are extremely popular among collectors. Some advanced collectors even try to accomplish the task of acquiring one coin from every mint possible. Countless books, papers and monographs have been written on the subject with new discoveries and classifications being made regularly. For more information on the subject see The Coinage In The Name Of Alexander The Great And Philip Arrhidaeus by Martin J. Price, published by the British Museum and Swiss Numismatic Society 1991.