>> Ancient Greek Coins - #Greek-22481
336-323 B.C. Stater
Coin Type: ANCIENT GREEK Denomination: STATER
Ruler: ALEXANDER III, THE GREAT Country: KINGDOM OF MACEDON
Mint: ABYDUS Date: 336-323 B. C.
Metal: GOLD Coin weight: 8.6 GRAMS
Certificate Number: 22481
ALEXANDER III, THE GREAT GOLD STATER
Obverse: Head of Athena right in a crested Corinthian helmet.
Reverse: Nike standing left, holding a wreath and ship's mast; to the right, ALESANAPOY.
The reference used for this coin is The Coinage in the name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus by Martin J. Price.
Alexander III succeeded his father, Philip II, on the Macedonian throne. In a reign of only thirteen years he was able to accomplish military feats that stand unequaled to this day. By B. C. 330 he was already the acknowledged leader of an empire that covered a million square miles. Alexander was more than a military genius. He had studied as a pupil of Aristotle and was familiar not only with strategy and tactics, but mathematics and philosophy, art, literature and theater. At his untimely death at the age of thirty-two, he was King of the Greeks, Pharaoh of Egypt, ruler of Persia and King of Asia.
His coinage reflects the immense wealth he accumulated during his conquests. For his gold coinage, Alexander chose the universal types that would appeal not only to the Greeks but also throughout his empire. The obverse head of Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet was symbolic of the goddess of wisdom, patroness of agriculture, industry and the arts. She guided men through the dangers of war, where victory was gained by prudence, courage and perseverance. The reverse type of Nike holding a wreath and ship's mast marks a continuation of Alexander's claim to be the leader of the Greek states. In addition, Nike was considered the Greek goddess of victory. Nike was depicted as a woman, usually winged, holding a wreath. In this pose, this could have been interpreted as a sign of peace throughout the empire. The Macedonian Stater became the predominant gold trade coin of the time. The coinage was issued at mints from one end of Alexander's empire to the oth
er. The coin was so universally recognized that the mintage of coins in the name of Alexander continued in various parts of the Greek world until late in the first Century B. C., some two hundred years after his death. There are over 1,000 mint symbols for gold coinage of Alexander the Great.
Abydus was an ancient Anatolian town in the Troas region originally settled by the Milesians about 670 B.C. Located just northeast of the modern Turkish town of Canakkale on the east side of the Dardanelles (Hellespont). It is celebrated for its vigorous resistance to Philip V of Macedon (200 B.C.). The city survived until late Byzantine times as the toll station of the Hellespont.
|
