Please give me your opinion on this coin purchased from EBay. Alexander 3 Heracles head Horse Prancing on rev. 7.05 gms 19 mm Macedonia mint
Not an expert either, but aren't these later coins? I thought Alex III were the bow type reverses, but a later successors in Macedonia. The portrait is always VERY different than Alex III issues.
I don't collect these but the "style" is not very pleasing. I pass because of that and the corrosion. Let's see what the authentication experts say. Good Luck.
I have a similar type for Kassander - Macedonia Kingdom Æ 18 Kassander (c. 305-297 B.C.) Pella or Amphipolis mint Head of Herakles right, wearing lionskin / BAΣIΛEΩΣ KAΣΣANΔΡO[Y] above and below youth on horse right, YΠ? monogram right field, Θ? below. Mionnet I, 783 ? (see reverse). (5.68 grams / 18 mm)
Marsyas Mike, Your coins have style. Note the letters on the OP's coin. Where are all the knowledgeable ancient posters? Right now, all I know is the OP's coin is either genuine, Barbaric, or fake.
Yeah, it looks like Kassander...akin to the coin pictured below: KINGS of MACEDON. Kassander. (305-298 BC). Æ18 (18.5mm, 6.66 g). Uncertain mint. Obverse: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin. Reverse: Rider on horseback right, raising right hand in salute; star to right, Λ below, T below raised foreleg.
I would agree with the consensus that it is genuine, but I also agree that it's not Alexander but a later ruler. All the Alexander reverses I'm familiar with have the bow and club with either "Alexander" or "king" in between them. It does kind of look like Kassander... see this example on VCoins which sold recently. Looks like the same reverse with the same letters in the fields, although the legend above the rider's head doesn't seem to match, so it could be another ruler... https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/sp...k_right_raising_right_ha/1307006/Default.aspx
It looks like there are two Lambdas in the middle of the reverse inscription above the rider. That would make this Philip III. And yes, it does look genuine. Keep an eye on that little spot of green at 1:00 on the reverse. If you see powder start to accumulate, that would indicate bronze disease. It is easy, but absolutely critical, to treat a coin with bronze disease. Left untreated, it will eventually destroy your coin.
