My first Tet

This one arrived last week, my very first tetradrachm. Picked this one up from eBay as a potential lifetime tetradrachm of Alexander III. I had my eye on a few of Lysimachos but this one got offered to me for a nice price so I can't complain!

I couldn't really find a match on wildwinds but there are so many listed there I'm sure I passed it over. The flip and info that came with it says struck between 336 and 326 BCE. Whether that's correct or not I am not sure (I know that no title and uncrossed legs on the reverse gives a better chance to it being a lifetime issue) but I am happy with the coin either way

 

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The branch places it at the Amphipolis mint, struck under Kassander 316 - 315 BC. See Price#126. The branch on yours is oddly very detailed. I've never seen one quite like it.

 

Thanks for the info. I can't seem to find the coin on wildwinds even with the Price number, mint, etc. It looks like they skip Price 126 entirely unless I am missing something. Do you have a link to the page?

Yeah I thought the branch was really cool, I couldn't find an exact match for it on all the coins I've looked at.

 

Beautiful coin

 

Something really has to be said for ancient coin designs...I think the insane relief on the portrait is one of my favorite aspects of them.

 

No. I have no idea how to use wildwinds. Seems like a bit of a mess to me. I use actual books!

 

I've never seen a side view before!. I've always wondered what they looked like. That is really cool.

 

As far as I can tell when a number is skipped at wildwinds it just means they dont have a listing or photo for it. I assume they use public domain photos.

 

Wildwinds does not list all entries for all references that it quotes and is occasionally incorrect. It can be good for helping to ID coins but if catalog numbers are very important to you it is no substitute for actually having the books themselves. There are so many copy and paste errors these days that I wouldn't even recommend quoting a catalog number unless you or someone else has verified against the source material for your specific coin.

 

Congrats on your first TET snare, and welcome to the Dark Side (Ancients Collecting).

I use Wildwinds, but find it clunky (unfortunately), but I find a lot of info there. I also use ACSearch and CNG Archives... all three are a good, quick research, especially for a NOVICE like me. LOL, then I rely on @red_spork for the REALLY COOL info! (Yeah, that Republic stuff)

My Lifetime AIII


Makedon Alexander Lifetime Tet Myriandrus mint-Alexandria near Issus

This guy came in one of those ridiculous plastic wrappers that had numbers and stuff that was a waste of time. I properly used a hammer and busted him out. Now I can hold it my hand and enjoy it, as well as show folks what REAL coins are!

 

Here is my lifetime tet.

Kings of Macedon, Alexander III ‘the Great' (336-323 BC). AR Tetradrachm
(26mm, 17.00g, 9h). Amphipolis, c. 332-326 BC.
Obv: Head of Herakles r., wearing lion skin.
Rev: Zeus Aëtophoros seated l.; janiform head in l. field.
Price 6; Troxell, Studies, Issue A3. Some roughness, VF
Saint Paul Antiques Auction 2 Lot 10, March 18, 2017.

 

I found what could be a lifetime hemi from Babylon, the very place he died. Anyone know if it was minted during or maybe just after he died there? Probably no way of really knowing.Pretty high relief as well.
KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III 'the Great'. 336-323 BC. AR Hemidrachm (2,06g). Babylon mint. Struck under Stamenes or Archon, circa 324/3 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; M in left field, monogram below throne. Price 3605. VF.

 

I'm jealous you guys! haha

 

wow- nice Janus in foreground!

 

I have two other Lifetimes of Alexander... both Babylon (yeah, then he died...)

OBOL

Makedon Alexander III 336-323 BC AR Obol 7mm 0.51g Babylon Lifetime Herakles lion skin Club bow quiver monogram in wreath M Price 3744

DI-SHEKEL (Tetradrachm size)

Makedon Alexander - Alexandrine Babylon Di-Shekel Tet 24mm 16.3g LIFETIME-Gamma 328-311 Baal-Lion Nicolet-Pierre p291 7

 

You are right, there is no way to know. We can only guesstimate, but I think they are pretty close. I also have a Babylon lifetime issue (among others):


Kingdom of Macedonia, Alexander III, The Great, 336 – 323 BC
Silver Tetradrachm, Babylon Mint, struck circa 324/323 BC, 25mm, 17.05 grams

Obverse: Head of Herakles right wearing lions skin.
Reverse: ALEXANDPOY, Zeus enthroned left holding eagle and scepter, Nike flying left holding wreath in left field, monogram beneath throne, M below.

References:
Price 3625

Provenance:
Triskeles Auctions #325, June 2017, Lot 134

 

Thanks, that Janiform vase is exactly why I bought the coin.

 

Way to go @non_cents ! Is this your first ancient?

Not my first, but my first lifetime:


Macedonian Kingdom, Alexander III
AR tetradrachm, 17.18g; Amphipolis mint, lifetime issue, struck under Antipater, c. 325-323 BC.
Obv.: Head of Herakles right, clad in Nemean Lion scalp headdress tied at neck.
Rev.: AΛEΞANΔΡOY Zeus enshrined left, throne without back and two leg struts,bright leg forward (archaic lifetime style), eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, TE monogram lower left, concave field

Below is my first:

Kings of Macedon, temp. Kassander – Alexander (son of Kassander). Circa 310-294 BC.
AR Tetradrachm, 26mm, 16.8 g, 6h, Amphipolis mint, in the name and types of Alexander III.
Obv.:Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin.
Rev.: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; in left field, Λ above torch; ΔI monogram below throne.

 

For coins of Alexander the Great I wish to recommend PELLA.

http://numismatics.org/pella/

Pella is directed by Dr. Peter van Alfen at the American Numismatic Society and uses coins from the ANS, the British Museum, and other important museums.

The UI works well but isn't entirely obvious. Here is a link to six examples of Price 126: http://numismatics.org/pella/id/price.126

To find the examples, I first went to http://numismatics.org/pella/ typed 126 into the search box and pressed enter. That showed one coin. Then I clicked on the text "Price 126" which took me to the page with the map and all the examples of Price 126.

 

There it is! Awesome resource. Thanks. Guess this makes it an early posthumous issue rather than a lifetime issue but I still really like it