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Session Four - Tuesday, September 2, 2014 10:00 AM
1510
Macedonian Kingdom. Alexander III, the Great. Gold
Stater (8.5 g), 336-323 BC
. Arados, ca. 324/3-320 BC. Head
of Athena right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet decorated
with serpent; behind,
.
Reverse:
-
,
Nike standing left, holding wreath and stylis; below left wing,
AP monogram. Price 3315; Duyrat 148-55. Problem free.
Very
Fine
.
Estimated Value ..............................................$2,400 - 2,600
1511
Macedonian Kingdom. Alexander III, the Great. Silver
Tetradrachm (17.03 g), 336-323 BC
. Babylon, ca. 315-311
BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress
.
Reverse:
, Zeus seated left, holding
eagle and scepter; in left field, MP monogram within wreath;
below throne, XA monogram. Price 3722. Attractive cabinet ton-
ing.
NGC grade AU*; Strike: 5/5, Surface: 5/5; Fine
Style.
Estimated Value ................................................... $700 - 800
1512
Macedonian Kingdom. Alexander III, the Great. Silver
Tetradrachm (17.0 g), 336-323 BC
. Sidon, under Ptolemy I
as Satrap, dated regnal year 18 of Abdalonymos (316/5 BC).
Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress.
Reverse:
, Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter; in
left field, regnal date of Abdalonymos (
); below throne,
.
Price 3504; Newell 50. Struck in very high relief.
Superb
Extremely Fine
.
Estimated Value ..............................................$1,000 - 1,300
1513
Macedonian Kingdom. Alexander III, the Great. Silver
Tetradrachm (17.09 g), 336-323 BC
. Babylon I, under
Seleukos I, ca. 311-300 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing
lion's skin headdress.
Reverse:
,
Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter; in left field, mono-
gram in wreath; below throne, H. SC 82.6; Price 3704; HGC 9,
10f. Incredibly choice example. High relief on excellent metal.
Delicately toned and lustrous.
NGC grade Choice AU*;
Strike: 5/5, Surface: 5/5; Fine Style.
Estimated Value ..............................................$1,500 - 1,800
1514
Macedonian Kingdom. Alexander III, the Great. Silver
Tetradrachm (16.7g), 336-323 BC
. Contemporary imitation.
Copying Babylon, ca. 323-317 BC, or slightly later. Head of Her-
akles right, wearing lion's skin headdress.
Reverse:
(N retrograde), Zeus seated left, holding eagle and
scepter; in left field, wheel. Price -, but cf. under Philip III P187-
202; Hersh -. Untoned.
Very Fine
.
The peculiar style, slightly low weight, and retrograde N in the
legend all point to this coin be an unofficial issue rather than a
unique variety in the name of Alexander.
Estimated Value ................................................... $400 - 500
1515
Skythia, Geto-Dacians. Koson. Silver Drachm (4.3 g),
Mid 1st century BC
.
, Roman consul accompanied by
two lictors; in lower left field, monogram.
Reverse:
Eagle stand-
ing left on scepter, holding wreath in talons. Cf. Iliescu 1; RPC I
1701; BMC 2 (all in gold).
Extremely Fine
.
Estimated Value ................................................... $400 - 500
1516
Thessaly, Larissa. Silver Drachm (6.1 g), ca. 370-360
BC
.
[
] in small letters to right, head of Aleuas facing
slightly left, wearing conical helmet; in right field, labrys
.
Reverse:
[
]
, eagle standing left on thunderbolt, head
turned to right; in left field in smaller letters,
. Lorber 94
(same dies); BCD Thessaly II 185 (same dies).
Choice Very
Fine
.
All known examples of this enigmatic coin type share the same
dies, which indicates a specific reason for its issue. However,
scholarly opinion is divided as to its purpose. Seeing a contrac-
tion of the name Hellokrates in the legend in the left field of the
reverse, Seltman proposed that the depiction of Aleuas, the
eponymous founder of Larissa's ruling house, the Aleuadae,
promoted the claim of Hellokrates against Alexander of Pherai
in 361 BC. A different interpretation was earlier proposed by M.
Sordi, "La drachma di Aleuas e l'origine di un tipo monetario di
Alessandro Magno,"
Annali
3 (1956), where he saw in the eagle
reverse a connection to the eagle coinage of Alexander the
Great (cf. Price pl. CXLIII), who upon his accession to the Mace-
donian Kingdom also became
tagos
of Thessaly. In the opinion
of this cataloguer, weight should be given to Seltman's interpre-
tation as the reverse design more closely resembles the very
rare bronze coins of Philotas (see U. Wartenberg. "Philotas? A
New Coinage from Macedonia,"
Essays Hersh
, pp. 13-7), who
was a tribal chieftain or king in the region of southern Macedon
/ northern Thessaly during the second quarter of the fourth
century, and whose son, Parmenion, was a close confidant and
general of Philip II of Macedon.
Estimated Value ..............................................$1,500 - 1,750
