Alexander the Great Tetradrachm

A reverse image search shows the coin (with the doctored images) for sale on a Hungarian website, eremshop.hu. The asking price is 85000 ft (~303 USD).

 

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Hello, I had a walk in the city center with my wife and drunk hot chocolate
So going back to this coin, it is offered by a professional numismatic shop. Anyway this shop has a very good reputation in our country and the owner is reliable, and some of his coins are brougth from auctions hosted in Austria and Germany as far as I know.
But since I have not bought or saw any ancient greek coins yet in my life, and this coin is not a cheap one, I turned to you for any suggestion. Thank you so much for your replies!
It is very interesting that this coin has a auction history in Austria. But its weight is still ok or is it too light?

 

Not at all, moreover you helped me a lot. I am very sorry for any inconvenience, I was not in the situation for looking this forum on my mobile for a while. I did not write that I have already bought it. I turned to you to get advice whether I should or not.
But if it is disgusting I will delete my profile from this forum.

 

@Gabor Papp ,

I think I owe you an apology here. I still believe that the images are doctored and oversaturated but not by you. I just saw the Hungarian listing that @TIF mentioned.

 

I'd hold out for a better example, one of correct weight and unquestionable authenticity. Plus, the price seems a little high. I think you can do better .

Coins of Alexander the Great (and ones in the style of those coins but after his death, as is the case with the coin you showed) are plentiful. You will have no shortage to choose from online in any given hour of any given day.

 

It would have been disgusting if it was the case, but I believe you that it is not your intention, apologies from me if I judged you too quickly but it happens on this forum here and there. If I was you, I wouldn't buy the coin. Tetradrachms in the types and name of Alexander are quite common, I am sure there are much nicer ones, especially if the price is already to the high side. Goodluck

 

Thank you
Anyway, I bought coins from the 1800s from this shop several times before and I always received what I saw on the picture with a life-long guarantee, so basically I trust in the seller. Maybe he bought this coin and felt unnecessary to take any new photo, I don't know. For me, it is clear that this is the same coin offered in Austria before. If this H. D. Rauch GmbH found it ok, I should trust in the originality.

 

I see, like in the real life, not everybody is kind and waste others time and abuse their helpfulness. I am not one of them.
I am not a professional forum-user, I see now that nobody use his real name here, so maybe I should re-register.
Anyway, thank you very much! Can you give me an advice, from where could I order such coins with trust?

 

Try Vcoins. It is a conglomeration of sellers and most of them are well though of. Take a look at all of the Alexander III tetradrachms currently listed there (319 at the moment) and when you've narrowed it down to a few you like best, send me a Private Message (click my name and select "Start a Conversation" and I'd be happy to provide input on the specific coins or sellers (if I know the seller).

It's best not to post coins publicly when they are currently for sale or for auction-- someone else might see the post and decide to buy it before you do. There are far more lurkers on CoinTalk than there are participating members.

 

No need to re-register, there are quite some people who use there real name.

Anyway, vcoins.com is the most trusted. https://www.ma-shops.com is another good trusted one. If you are willing to participate in auctions then biddr.ch has many trustable auctions. Even one hosted by a reputable member here on the forum @Severus Alexander , see the following link: https://www.biddr.ch/auctions/amcoinscanada/

 

Meanwhile, why don't we all parade our Alexander III tetradrachms for Gabor?


KINGS OF MACEDON, Alexander III
AR tetradrachm, 17.14 gm
late lifetime issue, struck in Aradus c. 324/3 BCE
Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress.
Rev: BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ; Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter; I in left field; AP monogram below throne
Ref: Price 3325
ex Colosseo Collection

 

Also, please do not forget: as you get to know the other Ancients posters here, several of them have eBay stores where they offer Ancient coins. Know the Seller and/or Know the Coin in every case, and that will help navigate through finding good coins!

(BTW, I do NOT have a store anywhere, rather I am only a collector that never sell my coins.)

 

Oh, my God, it is unbelievable. I pray I will have a similar one once in my life.

 

Great idea! Always a good reason to post some cool coins.

And, WELCOME @Gabor Papp to the Ancient's Forum of CoinTalk!

ALEXANDER III Lifetimes


Makedon Alexander III Lifetime Tet Myriandrus mint-Alexandria near Issus



Makedon Alexander III - Alexandrine Babylon Di-Shekel Tet 24mm 16.35g LIFETIME 328-311 Baal-Lion



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


Alex III Postumous


Makedon Alexander III 336-323 BC AR TET Posthumous


And, if you REALLY want a very cool Historical figure, look into his father, Philip II... an incredible person. In my view, one of the most incredible leaders of Ancient History. He was responsible for taking a shattered Makedon nation, redevelop its infrastructure, revolutionized the Army and its Cavalry, create the plans to destroy the Persian Empire, tutor and develop an incredible son, however was assassinated before his time. Alexander literally picked up the reins of his Father and won an Empire:

PHILIP II (lifetime issue)


Makedon Philip II Tet Pella LIFETIME 353-349 Zeus Horse star spearhd Le Rider 102

 

Yes, that was the reason why I did not share the shop name offering this coin in my first comments, since I did not bought it, and maybe one of the post readers buy it before me.
But in the last hours I have learned plenty of useful things, so I will check the list you sent me, and after it I turn to you in private for your advice. Thank you very much, I am really very happy now!

 

Thank you for the links!

 

Wow, they are really amazing!!!

 

I agree. If you want a coin of Alexander, tens and tens of thousands exist. I would choose a better example for the money. My favorite is a lifetime issue of Babylon. I have a few, but are always hard for me to not bid on them I like the story so much. Minted during his lifetime in the fabled ancient, ancient city. Plus, I like the style of that mint.

 

Thank you for the kind comment. I really enjoy them.

It is fun to move out of the realm of the ubiquitous Alexander III Tet, and find OTHER lifetime Tets of his. Like @medoraman , I really like the Babylon issues! Very cool, and a little harder to find / get.

 

There is a lot to learn from this thread.

1. Some of us are no longer replying to authenticity questions from posters we do not know from previous posts. That will wrong some new posters but we get tired of trolls trying to make us look stupid. I don't need help with that.

2. Many coins do not sell at auction when the reserve price is higher that the retail value of the coin. Some of those coins are wholesaled to dealers who specialize in such things. I have bought some coins for half or less of the previous reserve. Some are consigned to another dealer who may have better luck finding someone willing to pay twice what the coin is worth.

3. Stealing coin photos is more common that stealing coins. Making the photo look better is easier than making the coin look better.

4. A dealer in coins of 1800 AD is not a place to look for coins of 300 BC. Some big dealers employ experts that allow them to cover the complete range of coinage but more shops use their good reputation to sell coins they do not know enough about to handle professionally. That is why we suggest buying from people you trust and that you have reason to believe are well versed in those coins.

5. Common coins like this Alexander are in huge demand when in good shape but less so when is so-so condition. People who own coins often mistake their ugly coin for the perfect one. TIF posted a coin that could not possibly go unsold at 10 times the price of the one in question here would bring on a good day. Many of us have an Alexander and don't specialize to a point that we want another but would love to have TIF's coin. Those same people would not look twice at the OP (original post) coin at $30.

6. I apologize for my suspicion about the sincerity of this post but Coin Talk has become a place that requires defensive thread reading. I hope you will find a better coin at a better price, from a better source very soon. The coin may be perfectly genuine (I do not know) but you can do better.