My first Tet

Lifetime from Arados
Alexander III
Mint: Arados
325 to 323 BC
AR Tetradrachm
Obvs: No inscription. Head of Herakles right, clad in lions skin.
Revs: AΛEΞANΔPOY, Zeus seated left holding eagle and staff. AP monogram in left field.
25x27mm, 17.20g
Ref: Price 3424

 

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This photo(and maybe a couple others in old slides yet to be digitized)is all I have left of a crude but hefty old tetradrachm I bought as a teenage collector. Didn't even know the difference then but definitely a posthumous issue. Let almost all that first collection go in my twenties, quite a big mistake!

 

Still no Tet for me. I love these! Congrats!

 

Looks great! I love an edge shot!

 

One of the reverses of the example coins matches spot-on to mine (from the Munzkabinett Wein collection) but does not have the same obverse, but a different coin (the first American Numismatic Society example) shares a similar obverse based on a noticable part of the lion's design, that is not present on any of the other examples:

I'm only really familiar with more modern minting techniques...did ancient coins have something similar to "die pairings"? Could the obverse and reverse designs of 2 different coins also appear on the same coin? Or is the "example" list on PELLA incomplete and simply missing a picture of a coin that shares the same obverse/reverse designs as my coin?

 

Very nice!

 

The PELLA database is incomplete. It only holds coins donated to a small number of museums and that have been photographed.

For some ancient mints there will be a die study listing every known die and all of the known pairings. I don't know if there has been a die study of Amphipolis in the 320s BC.

At some ancient mints there were many dies in play at the same time. It is believed a worker would pick up any pair and start striking. This is the most common pattern.

At other mints, there would be a single pair of dies until a die wore out and was replaced. At these mints it would be surprising to see a pairing of dies that are normally far apart in a "die chain".

 

Its interesting that you note the ornamentation on the lion skin headdress. Most people dont seem to notice it (it doesn't appear on most issues). The Celts loved ornamentation and embellished it on their copies of Greek coins. I have this Celtic tetradrachm of Philip:

 

Great info. I understand now. Thanks

It certainly is an interesting design element! When I was trying to compare mine to others online, barely any others had it.

 

Welcome to the world of tets! I, no doubt, believe that this isn't going to be your last as you have now been sucked into this beautiful and addictive series. My latest passion (or addiction) has been Hercules (or Herakles), so I have been collecting several tets and other coins to fill my obsession. Here is one of the coins that I just recently purchased:

Macedonian Kingdom: Alexander III ' the Great' (336-323 BCE) AR Tetradrachm, Odessus (Price 1181a; Muller 419)

Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress
Rev: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, holding sceptre; AΛEΞANΔPOY to right, BAΣIΛEΩΣ in exergue, monogram to left, monogram below throne

 

I've only got one tet and I've had it since May. I'm thrilled to bits with it. Amazing to hold and I love the high relief.

Seller photo and description


Silver tetradrachm struck 323-317 BC at Babylon,
in the name of Alexander the Great

Head of young Herakles wearing lion’s skin headdress
Zeus enthroned holding eagle and sceptre,
M to left, ΛY beneath throne.

Price 3692; Muller 1272; SNG Cop. 832

 

Great coin! Very original and interesting photograph—it would make a nice oil painting.

 

LOVE the OP!!! And every single post that followed---not to mention the wonderful links and information!!

Coincidentally, I'm chasing a life-time Tet at this very moment and I should know if I won it in a few days. Since I only have a life-time bronze and a posthumous drachm, I'll post this stater which many authorities believe inspired the entire series:

CILICIA, Tarsos. Mazaios. Satrap of Cilicia, 361/0-334 BC. AR Stater (24mm, 10.93 g, 6h). Baaltars seated left, holding eagle, grain ear, grapes, and scepter; TR (in Aramaic) to lower left, M (in Aramaic) below throne / Lion attacking bull left; monogram below. Casabonne Series 2, Group C; SNG BN –; SNG Levante 106. EF, toned.

 

WOW, I LIKE that.

 

Here are my two

 

One of my favorite coins of yours.

 

could be this one



Kingdom of Macedon. Alexander III 'The Great' AR Tetradrachm.
Kingdom of Macedon. Alexander III 'The Great' AR Tetradrachm. Arados, Year 41-45 = 219-214 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus seated left, holding eagle in right hand, sceptre in left; palm left, monogram under throne; date (not readable) in exergue. Price 3381-3385; Müller 1384-1387. 16.81g, 29mm, 1h. Good Very Fine.

 

Thanks Brian!! It's one of my top three favorites in my entire collection.

Amazing posts everyone! I'll add my new Tet to the thread if 'fortune' allows it to be mine

 

Picked up another tet during the current CNG auction (and lost several too and my wife called me away for two hours so that really didnt help ). This particular one is large at 32mm with a weight of 16.65g:

Aeolis, Temnos: Magistrates Echenikos and Geitas (ca. 150-143 BCE) AR Tetradrachm (Price 1690)

Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin
Rev: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; in left field, EXENI/KOΣ in two lines above oinochoe within vine tendril; ΓEI/TAΣ in two lines below throne

 

Well, after some rather stiff competition, I won this Tet although I committed most of October's coin budget on it. Can anyone recognize what makes this Tet somewhat more intriguing and desirable than others?? In a few weeks I'll post a new thread explaining why it was worth a 'premium' to me




Macedonian Kingdom. Alexander III 'the Great'. 336-323 B.C. AR tetradrachm (25 mm, 17.16 g, 1 h). Tarsos, lifetime issue, ca 333-327 B.C. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress / ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter; below throne, B. Price 3000. Area of slight roughness above head of Herakles. Nicely toned. Extremely fine.