New collector. My first Ancient Greek coin. Hercules!

Attribution: Price P68 type (different monogram)
Date: 323-322 BC
Obverse: Head of Herakles right, in lion skin headdress
Reverse: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; torch in left field, monogram below throne
Size: 17.08 mm
Weight: 4.19 grams
Description: nearing VF. Reverse scratches

I really like the look of the lion headdress in this coin. With many others it’s hard to make out the lion but it’s easy with this one.

Also is it possible to find out where it was minted?

 

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I'm not very knowledgeable on this type of coin, but a quick search on Price P68 learns:
http://numismatics.org/search/results?q=fulltext:P68+

that there are 6 types. But honestly, I don't see the difference between the types.
Also, all are Sardis mint.
Furthermore, the symbol beneath the throne is different, so perhaps the Price P68 is incorrect?

Anyway, nice coin. Others will probably chime in and correct me.

 

more likely P80
http://numismatics.org/pella/id/price.P80

http://numismatics.org/collection/1944.100.31180

 

Congratulations! Welcome to your new obsession .

As Shanxi and Roerbakmix showed, the coin was struck under the auspices of Alexander's older half brother Philip III Arrhidaeus, circa 323-319 BCE.

 

Ah yes now I see the Sardis mint.


Also I messaged Kevin Sorbo on Instagram, the guy who played Hercules on the tv why none of the Ancient Greek Hercules coins look like him. Awaiting his reply lol

 

Welcome to the forum and the hobby Great first buy. My first coin when I started collecting a few months back was a tetradrachm version of the type:



Fun fact is that it is not really Hercules on your coin, but Alexander the Great masquerading as Hercules. Hercules was Alexander's favourite hero, and in his coins (especially after his death) it was his facial characteristics depicted on the coins, but in a Herculean fashion.

 

Welcome to the forum and the hobby, good coin to start with. My first was one of Alexander the Great as well

 

Welcome to cointalk!

There are so many cool and affordable ancient coins with people, places, gods, goddesses, cities, empires, emperors and other things that you've heard of before from ancient times.

You never run out of cool stuff to discover.



Edit: Added a neat ancient coin picture.

John

 

Welcome to Ancients Threads, @MasterVampire .

The only Philip III Arrhidaeus I have is a Drachm:


Makedon Philip III Arrhidaeus-Alex IV Drachm Amphipolis mint 259g 13mm Apollo-Youth horse R SNG ANS 621 Le Rider123


My first Ancients were Alexander and Owls (one capture)


Makedon Alexander III 336-323 BC AR Drachm 2



Athens Attica Owl Tetradrachmae

 

Welcome and Great way to start your collection! Wonderful centering, toning and excellent portrait
My first was a ATG as well... fouree

 

There is, as far as I know, only one Herakles headed coin that has a human face morphed into it in the "Alexander" type and that is the final issue of Odessos with the features of Mithradates Vl Eupator wearing a lionskin. That the rest have an image of Alexander is not true and the image was used before Alexander's time. (So I was fervently told by Stanley Ireland-numismatist and lecturer in Ancient Greek at Warwick)

 

Very nice, that is one on my list. The only problem for you now...is there is no returning from the dark side .

 

Beautiful and interesting coin! Great start!

 

Welcome, @MasterVampire, a great and iconic first ancient Greek! I really like the reverse legend of "[ΦΙ]ΛΙΠΠΟΥ" on your coin (a legend I don't have). You'll have to let us know if you hear from Kevin Sorbo. There is a online PDF version of "The Coinage in Name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus Vol. 1" (M.J. Price, 1991) which you might find interesting.

"Sardes was the administrative centre of the Persian satrapy of Lydia, and was certainly the mint for Persian sigloi and darics. There is therefore a strong probability that it continued to be an active mint under Alexander....This mint was particularly active during the early part of the reign of Philip III. There are forty-five varieties in the name of Philip (P66-P110) and fifty-six parallel issues in the name of Alexander (2585-2640)."
-Price (1991) p.320​

Here is another drachm from this mint:
Kings of Macedon, Alexander III ‘the Great’, 336-323 BC, AR drachm, Sardes mint (in Lydia), struck under Menander, as governor of Lydia, in the last year before Alexander III's death (circa 324/3 BC).
Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin
Rev: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ behind, monogram in left field, rose below throne
Size: 4.30g, 16.4mm
Ref: Price 2553

 

I suspect this will be the first of many Hercules for you! I certainly couldn't stop with just one - here are a few favorites:

 

I feel like a need to get a higher grade version, but wanted to post mine up as well.
It is the only coin I have graded/encapsulated

 

I find it fascinating how many people have said that their first ancient coin was a drachm or tetradrachm in the name of Alexander III, with the Hercules in lionskin obverse. I don't know if it's pure coincidence. After all, everyone's heard of Alexander the Great, and they're very attractive coins.

And, guess what? As I've mentioned a couple of times before, my own very first ancient coin that I bought as an adult was this one, from Harmer Rooke in New York City (which was primarily an antiquities dealer) on Feb. 21, 1986:

Macedon, Alexander III (under Philip III Arrhidaeus), AR Drachm, Miletos mint, 323-319 BCE. Obv. Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress/ Rev. Zeus seated left on throne, holding long scepter in left hand and eagle standing right with closed wings in his right hand; KH monogram (Price Monogram 476) in left field; in right field, AΛEXANΔPOY. Price 2121, Mueller 847. 16 mm., 4.21 g. Purchased from Harmer Rooke Numismatists, Ltd., New York, NY, Feb. 21, 1986.





I was there to look at antiquities -- which I had already been collecting for five years or so -- but this coin caught my eye, and wasn't particularly expensive, so I bought it. (I bought other ancient coins on occasion over the years, but 30 years later, I still had a total of less than 10 of them; I didn't really start focusing on collecting them until about three years ago.)

 

My first Greek coin.

Aspendos Alexander lll Tetradrachm c188/7 BC
Obs : Head of Herekles with lionskin
Seleucid Anchor countermark of c 161 BC
16.5gm 30mm
Price 2907
Reverse- Zeus seated holding eagle
ΑΣ = Aspendos ΚC= year 26
Spear in exergue
Inscription: ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ

Look at the die error for Alexander's name!

For further read The era's of Aspendos and Perge, by Meadows on academia.edu.
Works by MacDonald , DeCallatay, Houghton, Meadows on the Seleucid countermarks on coins.