Well I finally broke down and acquired a lifetime issue of Alexander the Great. Silver drachm, Price 2544, VF, slightly porous, Lydia, Sardes mint, 4.179g, 16.41mm, 0o, c. 334 - 323 A.D.; obverse head of Herakles right clad in lion's scalp; reverse Zeus enthroned left, eagle in right, scepter in left, male head left in Phrygian cap left, trisceles under throne. Here's a pic.
Very nice Dumanyu!!!! No ancient collection would be complete without one of these and they're getting more expensive all the time.Yours is actually quite a bit nicer than mine.
Did you get the dates right here? If so, then I hate to put a damper on the party but how can you tell for sure that this is actually a `lifetime' issue? I don't have the relevant reference book (Price in this case) so I really have no way of validating the `lifetime' assertion or otherwise. However, I do know that Alexander III died in 323 BC which means that this particular coin (if the dates and Price reference are accurate) could have been struck anytime during the last 10 years of his life or indeed up as much as 100 years after his death. Now, if you consider `probabilities' then the odds are actually stacked against it being a `lifetime' issue on a ratio of 10:1. That of course does not mean that it isn't but I am genuinely wondering what makes you say that it is(?) Irrespective of whether it is or it isn't a lifetime issue, it is a nice coin . Ian
Ian, I can only trust my source, which I do impecably. Barring that, you are correct. Regardless, it's worth the $$$ to me, and like a previous post said, no collection is complete... I normally don't go in for this era, being more amoured with the adoptive emperors (Marcus Aurelius et. al.), so it goes in with my Ptolemaic Kingdom coin. I had to have just one. Fred
Hi Fred, If your source said that it was definitely a `lifetime' issue, then I think that they might have got it wrong on this occasion. There are Alexander drachms which are definitely `lifetime'. There are issues which are definitely not. Then you have the ones that are `possibles'. IMHO It would be inappropriate for a dealer to have you believe that a `possible' was a `definite'. Regardless of that, you have a very nice Alexander III drachm in your collection. Now you can join in the debate as to whether the coin depicts Heracles on the obverse, or as some would argue....Alexander himself Ian
Ian, You bring up some interesting points, and I have taken steps to verify what I have. I'll let you know what comes of it. Fred
Ian, This is the response I got from my dealer, it works for me. "The reason the guy expressed doubt on cointalk was because of a typo in the dates. I know you cut and paste from our catalog, we had the typo. The date said c. 334 - 223 B.C. He expressed doubt because Alexander died in 323 B.C. The correct issue dates according to Price are c. 334 - 323 B.C., during Alexander's reign and lifetime. The lifetime issue attribution is the latest and best research. Is that definite? It is not 100%, but it is the best research to date and I am very confident it is correct" Fred WINS# 616
Indeed, my opening comments concerning the coin were `did you get the dates right?' I'm glad that it has turned out to be a lifetime issue after all and the dates provided were the result of a typo. Errors like that we are all prone to. I think there is an extensive listing of Alexander coins by their `Price' reference number (Price being the authors name) on Wildwinds.com. It has been a few years since I last looked so I don't quote me on that. Ian
Ian, I thank you very much for pointing that out, as I would have completely glossed over it. It is much appreciated. My collection is small, but I like having "special" issue coins in it. This being one of them, so your assisitance allowed me to verify what I thought I was buying. Again, thank you very much. Fred:hail:
I don't want to threadcrap but as this seems sorted, maybe someone can tell me a bit about this (exact dates, etc.) ? I also have a big sucker (4DR), but it's slabbed so I suppose that's enough info on that one. Can post that too, but here's what I call the 4DR's baby brother... Note: Ignore the file name, that's what I named it, may not be accurate.
Samj, I'm, by no means an expert, and I lack the right books, but you may want to try to gain some resources from my site of choice for all ancient materials. www.forumancientcoins.com There's a wealth of info there, so you may be able to ID the mint site... Very nice pieces, by the way! Fred
