Alexander the Great

I think it looks fine as-is, but if you were interested in cleaning it or having it cleaned I'd talk to @YOC or @Pishpash. Just don't remove the patina!

 

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Congrats on a sweet purchase ... they are a very cool coin-type

=> here is my "jazz-hands" example ...




... oh, but my example was a couple of bucks more, Canadian (I love both of our examples => it's neat when there are different symbols and styles, eh?)

 

Thx I guess I thought the grain ear was the squid

 

Where should I search for the value? And I got it 48$ Canadian. And did they strike it with a hammer?

 

I BELIEVE the lower device on the reverse is a CLUB, as in Herakles' Club... (NOT a grain ear)

https://www.acsearch.info/search.ht...s=1&currency=usd&thesaurus=1&order=1&company=

 

There is a small and indistinct grain ear below the club

Use the CNG archives links posted earlier in this thread. Also check currently for-sale coins on Vcoins.

Yes. Each coin was individually struck from an obverse and reverse die. The obverse was probably the anvil side and the reverse the hammer side.

 

Ok, COOL... I could not see that, and went looking at Grain Ear and Club as I researched. Nice catch! Thanks.

 

Nice => *edit* Gandalf, that's a good link ... it shows the several different/cool styles of the clubs and quivers!!

Oh and rather than a grain ear => my example seems to have a cluster of grapes above (coins are cool, eh?)

 

I would LOVE to get my hands on that coin!

I wouldn't touch the reverse. There appears to be some encrustation on the obverse which could be removed. I would soak in distilled water for a few days and then pick at it. Personally I would use a very sharp scalpel, but I have been doing it a while. If you are new to cleaning, use a wooden pick.

You need to be extremely careful not to touch the patina. If you need advice, just ask.

 

Thx. I can't find any one exactly like it. If any one has plz let me know around how much it's worth

 

$30 - $50ish

 

"Exactly like it" is different for ancients. The small bronze coins of Alex III were such a huge emission, involving so many dies (each handmade), that you are unlikely to find one "exactly" like yours. Occasionally small differences can make a big difference in value. That's not likely the case for this coin.

 

So just ones that are similar to mine are usually worth the same?

 

In the case of these small bronzes of Alex III, I think the answer to that is yes (if general condition, strike, centering, surfaces, artistry, etc are comparable).

Please note that sometimes I am wrong

...

Alegandron posted a link to similar coins on ACsearch. If you go through the entire list you'll see at least one other with the same general devices and arrangement as yours. That's probably not particularly important.

Here are a couple of partial screenshots of the first 9 hits of that search (pasted here because you can only see the realized prices with a paid subscription, which I recommend if you collect more than just a couple of ancient coins now and then). If the Hammer is blank, the coin failed to sell. Buyer's premium is not included in the price you see, nor is shipping.

 

Wha??????? My world is coming apart.

 

Wisecracker

 

You may want to consider taking Beano regularly...

 

Why? Why spoil the fun?

 

LOL! Absolutely! LOL

 

There is another feature of coin cost to be considered that most certainly does make a difference here. When you look up a result from a major sale by a big, trusted, full service dealer, you may see a coin bringing twice the price it would bring in a private sale at a coin show. There are many people with money quite willing to pay more for the peace of mind that comes with a coin sold by CNG, for example, and not at all interested in beating the bushes for a similar coin sold by one of us or trusting unknown sources. The other feature that is hard to explain is that sales depend on who is shopping and what they want. Your coin says Alexander. Some say King; others have BA for King Alexander. Some have grapes or grain or something else that might be important to a specialist buying his twentieth of these coins to complete his set. If two people go head to head at an auction both being certain that they will win no matter what it costs, all reason can go out the window leaving the rest of us wondering what happened. The next day, another like coin might sell for half the price because no one who saw it cared. I consider myself more reasonable than many but recently bought a large lot of coins because I wanted one coin in the lot and did not figure I'd ever see the wanted item again in my lifetime. If you have a roll of them, I paid too much. If I am right, I would have paid more gladly. This is not like rarities in US coins where there are a dozen offered every year for all but a few types.

48$C strikes me as reasonable. Half of the people you ask may say you were gypped and the other half will say you stole it. That is the hobby as we know it.