Ancients: A Soldier's Share of Alexander the Great's Plunder

Oh yes, that's a Price 3623, I'd recognize it instantly. Despite many years collecting I've never been able to get an Alexander: although I had a far miss with perhaps the most ultimate of his coins*.

In researching Alex tets on Wildwinds, I ran across your picture some time ago & thought it was such a beautiful piece that I saved the Wildwinds pix and notes to my computer months ago. I always wondered who owned this piece & now I know.

Also your photography is superb and very illustrative. Also due to a psuedo rare brain malfunction, I am trying to aqcuire a lifetime issue of one of these, in nice EF, from the Babylon mint. There is a superb EF one coming up for auction, not of superb style (the nose is too big) but with the obverse off-center. While I can take the nose, the grade is really nice, BEING OFF-CENTER BOTHERS ME A LOT!!!!

What do you think? Is there any hope of finding a centered one? Should I submit a cheap bid for the choice but slightly off-centered one? While I am not a patient person, due to my extreme grinding poverty, I am used to waiting a long time [years, decades even] to get pieces. I'll proably also send you a private message, due to my impatience.

Thanks for any help you can provide to an completely Alexanderless collector.

*N.B. the ultimate piece, in my malformed opinion, which was brought to a local coin club meeting by an old collector was the Alexander dek.

 

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Of course, since your distater is probably close to the rarist and most desireable Alex coin obtainable. A coin whose impressiveness is matched by it's rarity. Actually my best Roman coin collecting friend had one of these. He was extremely knowledgeable [compared to me] in Ancients but due to finances, had a tendency to collect very rare pieces in lower grades. Still his distater was perhaps a fine or a low VF. He sold it many years ago, before the advent of the Internet when prices for such things, particularly well circulated, were comparatively low. I always wondered why he did so as these are very rare pieces (I think) in all grades. Plus they're gold...

 

Nicely spotted - I'll admit that it wasn't until relatively recently that I noticed the hair detail in the helmet myself!

I don't know specifically how many varieties of distaters there are - there are only a small number listed by Price but I've seen some attributions shared with normal staters, so the complete count is unclear in my eyes).

I've interpreted the design behind Nike's head as her hair in a bow. My images are a bit shadowy in that area due to the concave reverse: I'll try adding more light to the reverse the next time I'm photographing.

Indeed... my wife is an artist and rather dislikes my distater because of Nike's fingers. I'm surprised that an artist capable of engraving the rest of the figure of Nike had such trouble with the hands.

 

Thanks! Yes, distaters are extremely rare in any grade, although a wholesome F-aVF piece would still be relatively affordable, comparatively speaking, and likely quite attractive. Any ancient gold is worth having in my eyes. I hated hearing some local dealers say they melted some Byzantine solidii when gold was at its peak. Sure, the coins might not have had any premium over melt at that point, but it seems very unfair to destroy a piece of history just to profit slightly due to the metal markets.

A word of caution on these: I had a dealer show me a tray full of high quality Alexander dekas which had fooled some other dealers and looked perfectly fine to me. There are only seven known genuine examples, two of which are in museums.

 

Some background, the person involved served as an embassy official back in Syria or Turkey or someplace like that back in the 1960's. He bought the coin back then. This is the silver dekadrachm of Alexander which features him fighting Porus reverse. I did not see the coin as I missed that show but my friend [the distater owner] was there and gave me the details. Later I tried to research the coin further but couldn't make too much progress. Since he was a numistmatist and bought the coin long ago the coin could very well be genuine but I don't know export law well enough to know if the coin could be seized today by the country of origin.

On melting Byzantine gold, it wouldn't surprise me. I get along extremely poorly with almost all coin dealers. I've read that 5 or so years ago a dealer(s) melted down a USA $50 gold piece, probably 1915 Panama-Pacific, as well as some gold cobs, to get the gold.

 

Nothing has changed much from ancient times. They still melt down silver and gold for bullion, apparently. I think it's retarded melting down coins for bullion.

 

amazing coin if you know anything I have a similar coin I've posted recently if you don't mind taking a look that'd be awesome.

 

Out of curiosity, why are some obverses called Herakles, and some are called Alexander "as" Herakles...and how do you tell the difference?

 

It's always interesting to look at the old threads when they're bumped. I posted that coin over four years ago, purchasing it almost seven years ago.

I've since upgraded it to a nicer distater, one for which Ex-Numis tracked down a pedigree that was unknown when I purchased it:

Ex. Adolph Hess AG & Bank Leu AG Auction 28, May 5th 1965, lot 153; Ex. Leu 13, April 29, 1975, lot 119; Ex. NAC 8, April 3, 1995 lot 222

 

I greatly enjoy seeing AJ's upgrade distater but I never like the resurrection of old threads. I am too stupid to look at every thread to see the date. I start reading the thread until I come upon a post I made (or someone no longer a member like Steve) when I have the jolting reminder that I was suckered again. No one wants to be Charlie Brown kicking at a football over and over again. In the 9.5 years since I joined CT we have covered most topics more than once. I really wish all topics were locked after a year and folks would start fresh when they have something to say.

 

"Alexander III the Great AR Tetradrachm
Babylon mint (331-325 BC).
Price -"

It think it is Price 3618

http://numismatics.org/pella/id/price.3618

The two examples in Price´s book have the M under throne and yours under feet like the 2 specimens in ANS collection.

http://numismatics.org/collection/1944.100.80182

http://numismatics.org/collection/1944.100.80286

For the Experts in ANS the coins with the M under feet are Price 3618 too and I do have to agree. If your coin would have any new symbol or new symbol combination, then it would be an unpublished variant but this is not the case here.

 

Some GREAT photography here!!!
Brings to mind a truism Doug (as I recollect) told me many years ago: "if you want to make great coin photos, start with a great coin."

 

I just saw this thread first time, since i am relatively a newbie to this forum
First off, thats a real beauty AJ, over my short time here, I have really enjoyed your coin posts
I can put in my modest Alexander III AV Stater.
AV Stater ND 19mm. 8.61g. Amphipolos Mint
Posthumus Issue

 

Do I see eyelashes on the upper eyelid or are my old eyes deceiving me? (OP's distater).