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Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III 'the Great' AR Dekadrachm. Babylon, circa 325-323 BC. Head of
In Auction XIV
Description
Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III 'the Great' AR Dekadrachm. Babylon, circa 325-323 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus AĆ«tophoros seated left, holding sceptre, on throne with eagle-tipped finials; AĪEĪANĪPOY to right, monogram below throne, M in right field. Price -, cf. 3600 = Mitchiner, The Early Indo-Greeks and their Antecedents p.11, illustration 4 = NAC 72, 344 = Price, Mnemata, 6 = Coin Hoard 1975 fig. 6, 2 (same obverse die); ACR 8, 198 (same obverse die); cf. Price 3603 (tetradrachm, same arrangement of controls). 40.38g, 34mm, 3h. Extremely Fine; crystallised metal. Perfectly centred, and struck from dies of the most elegant style. One of the very finest of the exceedingly few surviving dekadrachms of Alexander, this is a magnificent treasure for which all words fall short of doing just service. From a private Canadian collection. In all of human history, there have been but very few individuals whose accomplishments are recounted again and again undimmed by time, whose legends have grown only brighter with the passing of the years, and whose names can stir fierce emotion and wonder at a distance of millennia. Alexander is perhaps the greatest of all such paragons of humanity, whose life and exploits are the near-incredible stuff of myth and fable. Silver dekadrachms, be they of Athens, Syracuse, Akragas or Carthage, have ever been amongst the most desired and sought-after of ancient coins by virtue of their impressive size and weight, and the large canvas they presented for the showcasing of the engraverās art. Though considered ārareā, the surviving dekadrachms of Syracuse number in the high hundreds or low thousands, and those of Athens in the dozens. Fewer than twenty dekadrachms of Alexander are known to exist today - figurative grains of sand on a beach amidst the hundreds of thousands of surviving tetradrachms, drachms, staters and other fractions. The extreme rarity of Alexanderās dekadrachms has therefore contributed an aura of unobtainability to the mystery of this most iconic coinage. Missing from most of the worldās major institutional collections, the majority of the examples known today originated from the 1973 āBabylonā Hoard (sometimes also referred to as the Mesopotamia Hoard), and a smaller 1989 find that Martin Price believed to be a part of the original 1973 deposit. The eight coins that are known to have come from these two groups form the backbone of the Dekadrachm corpus. Struck in three emissions from a mint generally considered to be at Babylon, but possibly Susa or Ekbatana, the dekadrachms formed part of a massive conversion of bullion seized from the Persian Royal treasuries at Susa and Persepolis - some 180,000 Attic talents (4,680 metric tons) were liberated from those vaults, converted by decree of the King into ready coinage to meet the expenses of his vast empire and to pay his beloved soldiers. That so few examples of this large denomination survive today is potentially indicative of a special significance or purpose for these coins. It is certainly tempting to think - as many often have - that they represent presentation pieces intended for certain men of rank, and that Alexander, who was well known for his love of giving gifts, may have distributed them personally. In reality though, their low survival rate is probably due to the impracticality of the denomination, since the ubiquitous tetradrachm was the more common and more convenient medium of payment. Regardless of its intended purpose, and though it represents only a small splinter that survives of Alexanderās great vision, today his dekadrachms are one of the most tangible artefacts of his reign, and amongst the greatest prizes of ancient Greek numismatics.
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Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III 'the Great' AR Dekadrachm. Babylon, circa 325-323 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus AĆ«tophoros seated left, holding sceptre, on throne with eagle-tipped finials; AĪEĪANĪPOY to right, monogram below throne, M in right field. Price -, cf. 3600 = Mitchiner, The Early Indo-Greeks and their Antecedents p.11, illustration 4 = NAC 72, 344 = Price, Mnemata, 6 = Coin Hoard 1975 fig. 6, 2 (same obverse die); ACR 8, 198 (same obverse die); cf. Price 3603 (tetradrachm, same arrangement of controls). 40.38g, 34mm, 3h. Extremely Fine; crystallised metal. Perfectly centred, and struck from dies of the most elegant style. One of the very finest of the exceedingly few surviving dekadrachms of Alexander, this is a magnificent treasure for which all words fall short of doing just service. From a private Canadian collection. In all of human history, there have been but very few individuals whose accomplishments are recounted again and again undimmed by time, whose legends have grown only brighter with the passing of the years, and whose names can stir fierce emotion and wonder at a distance of millennia. Alexander is perhaps the greatest of all such paragons of humanity, whose life and exploits are the near-incredible stuff of myth and fable. Silver dekadrachms, be they of Athens, Syracuse, Akragas or Carthage, have ever been amongst the most desired and sought-after of ancient coins by virtue of their impressive size and weight, and the large canvas they presented for the showcasing of the engraverās art. Though considered ārareā, the surviving dekadrachms of Syracuse number in the high hundreds or low thousands, and those of Athens in the dozens. Fewer than twenty dekadrachms of Alexander are known to exist today - figurative grains of sand on a beach amidst the hundreds of thousands of surviving tetradrachms, drachms, staters and other fractions. The extreme rarity of Alexanderās dekadrachms has therefore contributed an aura of unobtainability to the mystery of this most iconic coinage. Missing from most of the worldās major institutional collections, the majority of the examples known today originated from the 1973 āBabylonā Hoard (sometimes also referred to as the Mesopotamia Hoard), and a smaller 1989 find that Martin Price believed to be a part of the original 1973 deposit. The eight coins that are known to have come from these two groups form the backbone of the Dekadrachm corpus. Struck in three emissions from a mint generally considered to be at Babylon, but possibly Susa or Ekbatana, the dekadrachms formed part of a massive conversion of bullion seized from the Persian Royal treasuries at Susa and Persepolis - some 180,000 Attic talents (4,680 metric tons) were liberated from those vaults, converted by decree of the King into ready coinage to meet the expenses of his vast empire and to pay his beloved soldiers. That so few examples of this large denomination survive today is potentially indicative of a special significance or purpose for these coins. It is certainly tempting to think - as many often have - that they represent presentation pieces intended for certain men of rank, and that Alexander, who was well known for his love of giving gifts, may have distributed them personally. In reality though, their low survival rate is probably due to the impracticality of the denomination, since the ubiquitous tetradrachm was the more common and more convenient medium of payment. Regardless of its intended purpose, and though it represents only a small splinter that survives of Alexanderās great vision, today his dekadrachms are one of the most tangible artefacts of his reign, and amongst the greatest prizes of ancient Greek numismatics.
Auction XIV
Sale Date(s)
Venue Address
The Alto Room
The Cavendish Hotel London
81 Jermyn Street
London
SW1Y 6JF
United Kingdom
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Important Information
ROMA NUMISMATICS LTD.
AUCTION XIV
21 September 2017
11:00 Greek Coins
13:30 Roman, Migration Period, Byzantine, World and Islamic Coins
Location:
The Alto Room
The Cavendish Hotel London
81 Jermyn Street
London
SW1Y 6JF
United Kingdom
Viewing:
At the office of Roma Numismatics
20 Fitzroy Square
London, W1T 6EJ
United Kingdom
From August 21st - September 20th:
Monday – Friday, 09:30 – 17:30
Lots will not be available for viewing during the sale.
Roma Numismatics Limited
20 Fitzroy Square
London
W1T 6EJ
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7121 6518
www.romanumismatics.com
email: info@romanumismatics.com
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CONDITIONS OF SALE
The following terms and conditions will apply to this auction:
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III. The auctioneer guarantees the absolute authenticity of any and all coins sold. There is no expiration to this guarantee. Any coins subsequently found to be not authentic will be exchanged for a full refund of the purchase price.
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Any coins in this sale that fall under US import restrictions but may still be legally imported into the US are accompanied by documentation proving that they were outside of the source country prior to the effective date, or are accompanied by a valid export certificate issued by the country of origin.
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