Alexander III Coin Identification / Origin

Hi everyone

Could you please help me identify this coin (gifted to me). From my own research I think it was minted in Miletus/Miletos, lifetime issue, c. 325 - 323 BC (not sure if this is correct, but seems there is a ΔΗ on the left with an accidental horizontal mark on the top - pretty hard to see), but I have just compared with similar coins I have found around the web. Am keen to get some insights / opinions from this forum! Whatever it is, I love owning this piece of history!

Thanks

 

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Nice gift! I wish I had the expertise to answer your question!

 

Depending on the size, it could be a drachm or a tetradrachm from Alexander the Great. The legs being un-crossed on the reverse points to it being a lifetime issue, which puts it around 330 BCE. These kind of coins were produced over hundreds of years.

 

My eye keeps being drawn to what looks like a casting seam around the edge.

 

Oh so you think it could be a forgery? It was purchased and what I think is quite a reputable dealer in London so that's strange, but I suppose it could be!

 

Could just be an anomaly in the way it was struck. Can you show the edge from 6-9 o'clock obv and rev?

 

Like this?

 

Good shots. Looks normal with those views.

 

Check out the different varieties of Price 2090, Miletos, Alexander III AR Tetradrachm. Head of Herakles right, wearing lionskin headdress / AΛEΞANΔΡOY, Zeus seated left, holding eagle in outstretched hand, ΔH monogram in left field , hope this helps

 

Hello @Rupes. Welcome to CoinTalk ancients.
That's a nice looking coin.
I'm not an expert in Alexander The Great tetradrachms. Therefore, I'm not qualified to know, whether your coin is authentic or a fake. Perhaps some experts, in Alexander tetradrachms, will show up on this thread, in order to help figure out, whether your coin is authentic or a fake.
Sometimes, even reputable coin dealers, can be fooled, by a fake coin. Especially if the dealer is not an expert in ancient coins, or an expert in the coin type.
Can you post the weight and diameter of your coin?
In your photo of the reverse below, I have added red arrows pointing to, what looks like, a possible casting seam (the dark brown line), on the edge of the coin.
Most struck coin types, such as your coin, don't have casting seams. However, some do. Sometimes, if the planchet (blank) was created by casting, before the coin was struck, then the struck coin may have the remnant of a casting seam. Therefore, just because a coin that is supposed to have been struck, has a casting seam, doesn't always mean that the coin is fake. However, I don't know, whether any examples of your coin type have remnants of casting seams.
Also, if an ancient coin has previously been mounted within a circle of metal as jewelry, then that can create marks on the edge of the coin.
Also, when an ancient coin was struck, sometimes the edge of the coin became folded somewhat, which can sometimes look somewhat like a casting seam.
Also, the appearance of a possible casting seam in your photo, could be a trick of the lighting and reflections.
Can you post photos, of the entire edge of your coin, zoomed in further, with the light source perpendicular to the edge of the coin, to create shadows perpendicular to the edge of the coin, if possible?

 

Thanks for the reply. It is actually quite small, I think a Drachm rather than Tetradrachm, and it feels more weighty than it looks. It is around 18mm in diameter, and is around 4g maybe a bit over. I've attached photos of the edges - hope these are what you needed.

 

Thanks @Rupes.
By the way, I edited my post above. Therefore, please re-read my post above. I added comments about dealer expertise in ancient coins, and tricks of lighting and reflections, and perhaps other things.
Your photos of the edge, make it seem to me, that the edge looks authentic. However, I'm not an expert in detecting fake ancient coins, and I'm not an expert in the Alexander The Great coin type, therefore I'm not qualified to know for sure, if your coin is authentic or a fake.
Perhaps experts in Alexander The Great coins, will show up on this thread, to help figure out, whether your coin is authentic or a fake. However, it may take a few days or weeks, for them to show up.

 

P.S. : The following web site is helpful. I often use the following web site, to view photos of coins from previous auctions, to compare my coins with those coins from previous auctions, to try to figure out, if my coin is authentic or a fake. The web site is free. To view large photos, you have to sign up, which is free. You just have to provide your email address. If you want to view auction hammer prices, then you have to pay a membership fee. You can search for the following : Alexander drachm
https://www.acsearch.info/

 

P.P.S. : And, ACsearch is helpful, to try to figure out, the coin type, and reference numbers.

 

P.P.P.S. : The mark, to the left of the seated figure of Zeus, is an important identifying mark. I can't tell, what it is, exactly. It almost looks like a Greek letter "pi", but I'm not an expert in identifying marks.

 

Thank you @sand. I'm a bit confused about the positioning of the light source in your initial post!

I thought the coin marking was similar to those in this link (I filtered to find). Similar to the 2090 mentioned by @ancient times above. That's how I hypothesised a Miletus mint (seems the marking might be something like a capital eta Η with a small capital delta Δ above) :

https://numismatics.org/pella/results?q=statedAuthority_facet:"Alexander+III+of+Macedon"+AND+authority_facet:"Alexander+III+of+Macedon"+AND+deity_facet:"Zeus"+AND+(denomination_facet:"Decadrachm"+OR+denomination_facet:"Didrachm"+OR+denomination_facet:"Drachma")+AND+mint_facet:"Miletus"

But now rather than finding out the mint, it seems I first need to find out whether or not it is fake!

I will also check the links provided - thanks!

 

About the lighting, what I meant, was that sometimes the direction of the light source (the lamp or whatever is providing light in your room), can affect the shadows of various features on a coin's surface. When taking photos of a coin, the direction of the lighting can cause certain details of a coin's surface to become hidden, or better shown. The lighting of your photos, of the edge of your coin, seems good enough, but I'm no expert.
Regarding authentic versus fake, most ancient coin collectors seem to be uncertain, whether some of their ancient coins are authentic or fake. I may have a few fakes, in my ancient coin collection. It's almost impossible to know, for sure. I believe that, most of my ancient coins are probably authentic, and probably not "tooled" (altered), and probably have authentic patinas. But, I'll probably never know for sure. I have 2 ancient coins, that I'm pretty sure are fake. And, I have a few ancient coins, of which I am suspicious may be fake. And, I have a few ancient coins, which I suspect may have been "tooled" (altered). And, I have a few ancient coins, which I suspect, may have fake patinas. It's all part of the game.

 

Thank you @sand. I can see what you and @expat were saying about that line now. In reality the line is not actually there, so seems to be a trick of the light. It's hard to get photos of it as the camera on my phone seems to process and make everything 'sharper' but I have tried to turn it around in the attached images to show that it is actually quite smooth.

Good point about never knowing for sure about whether ancient coins are real or fake - that's the fun of it I suppose! View attachment 1556205

 

I think this


is what caused the confusion. Could be confused as a casting seam from the other photos.

Here's my "Alexander's Ragtime Band"