Tiny Alexander III ???

I bought this Alexander III without paying too much attention to the size and when it arrived (today) it was way more 'tiny' than any I have seen previously.

Can anyone shed any light on this for me please?

Alexander III (The Great)
Obv: Heracles with Lionskin
Rev: Bow in quiver, and Club
Bronze 9mm x 7mm, 0.3 gm.



for comparison, here it is next to a 'Standard' bronze coin 21mm., 6.0 gm.,

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Wow, I think you may have nabbed something very special, despite its condition . Congratulations! You didn't state the metal in your post but it appears to be silver.

Such tiny Macedonian (Seleukid?) fractionals are not common. They were not hoarded like the tetradrachms and drachms. I don't have the knowledge to confirm exactly what you have, but possibly a hemiobol or quarter obol, from Alexander the Great or Seleukos I Nikator. There is inconsistency of naming the denomination (by weight) from the few similar coins I've found this morning. Searching the usual internet resources, I'm not finding much.

Perhaps the best book for investigating your coin would be M.J. Price, The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus. London. 1991. I don't think it is available to read online. If I'm wrong about that, I hope someone posts a link.

Here's something similar, from Wildwinds:



Sale: CNG 72, Lot: 884. Closing Date: Wednesday,
14 June 2006. SELEUKID KINGS of SYRIA. Seleukos
I Nikator. 312-281 BC. AR Hemiobol (0.37 g,
12h). Babylon I mint(?). Struck circa 312-300
BC.Estimate $150 Sold For $200

SELEUKID KINGS of SYRIA. Seleukos I Nikator.
312-281 BC. AR Hemiobol (0.37 g, 12h). Babylon I
mint(?). Struck circa 312-300 BC. Head of Herakles
right, wearing lion skin / Club, quiver, and bow;
lion’s head to left. Cf. SC 85; cf. Price 3706.
Good VF, toned. An apparently unpublished
denomination of a very rare type.

From the Robert A. Weimer Collection.

Copyright © CNG 2002-2005

By permission of CNG, www.cngcoins.com.

 

cool coin

 

I have both volumes as PDF files, I got them on line some time ago and not sure when.

 

In their day, small coins played a big part in daily commerce but tetradrachms were like hundred dollar bills are today. Most were hoarded in pots while small coins were spent until they were lost. I have seen a bag with a thousand tetradrachms in it but never a bag of obols.

My little one is an obol of Alexander III just like the tetradrachms but smaller (0.6g).

 

So the OP coin is an obol or a hemiobol???

 

Definitely looks like the Seleucid coin TIF used. It's a cool lil' thing!

 

See my post above.

 

Very nice pick up TC!
One question though: is the metal bronze or silver?

 

From the OP: "Bronze 9mm x 7mm, 0.3 gm."

 

I firgued as much but

 

I think he is wrong and believe it is silver (although I did overlook where he said "bronze" in the OP )

 

I'm with TIF, that looks like toned silver to me.

 

I think I found something similar on @Valentinian s page.
http://esty.ancients.info/pur/WWEcoinslate2010.html

 

that is a very cool little coin TC. i didn't know (or remember?) that these came in "fun size"!

 

Awesome => super lil' OP-winner ... congrats Topcat7 (very cute)

 

Alexander types also come in half and quarter of the bronze issues. I have one, but no photographed yet. They are scarce to rare like the silver issues.

 

Sorry for the delay everyone. (Comes from me being on the other side of the world - 'Down Under'. I am asleep when you are awake.) Now:-

@> TIF, The coin is (heavily) toned which makes me want to say Bronze, but it is VERY smooth and could be toned silver, but the toning is very even over the whole coin. I have referred to the places that you mentioned and I cannot find a reference to a bronze obol, so without 'scratching' the surface to find what is underneath, is there any way that I could tell?
I haven't tried to find M.J. Price, The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus. London. 1991. yet, but if Pish has it in PDF it is probably out there somewhere, for me to find. Thank-you for the help.

Thanks TIF, Pish, M.M., Zumbly, Steve, Chris, et al.

 

I'm pretty sure it is silver (look at the flow lines-- that's not something I recall seeing on worn bronzes). Plus, the overall look and and wear suggest silver. To satisfy yourself you could try treating the coin or a portion of it with a weak acid or Tarn-X (or other silver polish). If you do that I'd give it several soaks in distilled water afterwards.

A half or quarter-sized denomination of the bronze would still be significantly larger than your itty bitty coin.

All signs point to this being silver rather than bronze.

 

I have Price of course, but without some more devices clear it will be some work and a couple hours or more to find the reference. Just dont have the time. Sorry! No, Price isnt available as a PDF, it is copyrighted. Buy the book!