Featured A busy reverse on this Alexander III drachm struck by Lysimachus

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Sallent, May 11, 2019.

  1. Sallent

    Sallent Live long and prosper

    Lysimachus was one of Alexander the Great's personal bodyguards. After Alexander's death, somehow Lysimachus worked his way up to general and eventually the ruler of Thrace. He ruled Thrace from 305 BCE until he was killed in battle in 281 BCE by Seleukos I Nikator.

    Below is a drachm, typical of other Greek drachms of the period, until you look at the busy reverse. Talk about eye candy. Besides Zeus and the eagle, we have a lion, a pentagram, and a control mark that looks like an o with a spear through it.

    87657q00.jpg
    AR drachm
    Kingdom of Thrace
    Lysimachus (305-381BCE)
    Kolophon Mint (299-296 BCE)
    weight 4.258g, maximum diameter 18.7mm, die axis 0o
    obverse: head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck.
    Reverse: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, eagle in right hand, scepter in left hand, right leg drawn back, lion-forepart left over Φ (control symbols) in left field, pentagram (control symbol) under throne, ΛYΛIMAXOY downward on left, BAΣIΛIΩΣ below
    Thompson 127, Price L27, Müller Alexander L21, HGC 3 1752e (R1)

    By the way, I do happen to have an Alexander III from the ruler that defeated Lysimachus in battle and killed him in 281 BCE...wanna see?

    Alexander III Tetradrachm (1).jpg
    SELEUKID KINGS of SYRIA. Seleukos I Nikator. 312-281 BC. AR Tetradrachm. In the name and types of Alexander III of Macedon. Babylon mint. Struck circa 311-300 BC.
    Weight 17.21g, diameter 26.87 (average)
    Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; monogram in wreath in left field, H below throne. SC 82.6; Price 3704; HGC 9, 10f.

    Yep, both my Alexander III coins are linked historically to one another. How cool is that? :cool::cigar:

    By the way, right after Seleukos I killed Lysimachus in battle, Seleukos I was assassinated. The year 281 BCE was not a good year for people who knew Alexander III personally. :eek:

    Post any coins you deem relevant
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2019
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  3. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    i love them!..i think maybe one(or both) of my silvers is a Seleukos l Nickator Alexander coins 002.JPG Alexander coins 003.JPG
     
  4. Ryro

    Ryro Trying to remove supporter status

    Great pair of tets!
    01FE4950-BE19-4217-9800-E5521F0E99FB.gif
    And she haS a Lot going on on the backside as well!!! Fascinating coin.
    I'll always be a sucker for diadochi.
    Great point about 281 BCE. At least it's a ways from 323 when ATG passed. Meaning they lived into it age.
    I've always loved this tets image of Alexander via Lysimachos:
    376AD28D-5226-49CA-9DAE-E1288697D054.png

    Lysimachos
    Kings of Thrace. Pella. 305-281 BC. Tetradrachm AR 27mm., 15,95g.
    Head of the deified Alexander the Great to right, wearing diadem with fluttering ends and with the horn of Ammon around his ear / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ, Athena, wearing robes and helmet, seated to left on throne, holding Nike on her right hand and resting her left elbow on large round shield adorned with a gorgoneion; to left monogram. very fine. Thompson 253; Müller 471. From: Savoca

    Here's some bronzes of Lysi as well:
    EEFC9D61-372B-41E3-BB2E-D0ACFD4B0B55.png

    Lysimachos
    Kings of Thrace. Uncertain mint. 305-281 BC. AE (19mm, 3.75g). Helmeted head of Athena right / Lion leaping right, spearhead below. Müller 61; HGC 3, 1758.
    Former: Kairos

    50E7346C-5FDB-439F-8AF9-A3EDDA920727.png

    Lysimacheia
    The Thracian Chersonese. 309-221 BC. Bronze Æ 16mm., 4,02g. Head of Herakles right wearing lionskin headdress / Nike standing left, monogram in right field. nearly very fine Moushmov 5499 var.

    Though my tet that is seleukid, is from a hundred years later than yours(and hands down has got to be my most posted coin).. So I'll post a bronze:
    66572096-0E5C-40F3-9F0A-1D9A7B16AB30.png

    Seleukos I Nikator
    312-281 BCE. Æ (15mm, 2.48 g,). Uncertain mint. Winged head of Medusa (though I still think this is the image of Alexander) right / Bull butting right; controls not visible.
    Former SAVOCA coin
     
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  5. Sallent

    Sallent Live long and prosper

    @Ryro only the bottom coin is a Tet.

    And yeah, as far as lifespans go, both men definitely more than exceeded the life expectancies of their age. Had they been born in our times, they'd be more than a decade into retirement, playing bingo and golf in their retirement community all day long. I'm not sure if any other of Alexander's companions lived longer than they did.
     
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  6. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Cool @Sallent ! Great captures and nice little write-up.

    LYSIMACHOS

    upload_2019-5-11_16-21-14.png
    Thrace -Lysimachos AR Tet 14.3g 28.7mm 305-281 BCE RARE Alexander head-Ammon horns - rev Lysimachos Athena;
    Ex: Forum Ancient Coins


    upload_2019-5-11_16-22-24.jpeg
    Thrace Lysimachus AE 14 306 BC Apollo forepart of Lion
    Ex: @John Anthony auction


    upload_2019-5-11_16-23-19.png
    Thrace - Lysimachos 305-281 BCE AE20 Sysimachia mint 4.64g 19.5mm Athena - Lion SNG Cop 1153 Muller 76
    Ex: Forum Ancient Coins


    SELEUKOS

    upload_2019-5-11_16-25-37.png
    Seleukid Seleukos I 312-280 BCE AR Tet 14.46g Seleucia on Tigris. Zeus - Athena driving a quadriga of 4 horned elephants SC 130


    upload_2019-5-11_16-26-35.jpeg
    Seleucid Seleukos I 312-280 BCE AE 20 Athena-Elephant Spaer 129


    This was the smartest of Alexander’s Generals... possibly an older half-brother.

    PTOLEMY

    upload_2019-5-11_16-30-11.jpeg
    Egypt Ptolemy I Soter Tet - Delta - bankers marks
     
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  7. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    Great coin! Zeus got all his geegaws.
     
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  8. Plumbata

    Plumbata Well-Known Member

    Very nice silvers, gotta say they're a bit more personally interesting than those roaches of yours! :D The drachms of Lysimachus tend to be quite attractive, as yours is.

    Lately I've become much more interested in the coins of Alexander, his predecessors and his Diadochi, with the varied issues of Seleukos I Nikator being extra interesting.

    DSCN5277.JPG DSCN5278.JPG
    16.97g ΣΕΛΕΥΚΟΥ tetradrachm from Ekbatana, 2 winged-medusa, butting bull bronzes (I'm in love with the type and aim to collect a herd of 'em), and a rough but somewhat scarce 0.43g fraction from Babylon.

    I've made no secret of my great interest in inscribed sling bullets, and hope to spend the next 50 years matching bullets to coins and coins to bullets. The Macedonians and Diadochi are great for both so it should be interesting.
    I recently picked up a big load of 23 bullets, most inscribed (albeit weakly generally) and believe I have some Philips (II or III, will have to do more research), an Alexander and others.

    DSCN5281.JPG
    DSCN5283.JPG
    4.11g ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ drachm with 2 of his sling bullets, monogram on 1 side and ΛΥ on the other.

    DSCN5284.JPG
    DSCN5285.JPG
    I felt pretty silly for not realizing it sooner, but after learning how the "H" was pronounced in ancient Greek the origin of the "ΔΗΜΗ / ΤΡΙΟ[...]" sling bullet clicked pretty quick, it must be in the name of Demetrius I Poliorcetes besieger of cities! (More interesting than a later Antigonid origin, don't burst my bubble plz :p) Now I just need to save up a grand or so to get one of his awesome Poseidon tetradrachms.
     
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  9. Sallent

    Sallent Live long and prosper

    Cool, but you also need to collect Roman bullets. I hear that from the siege of Alexandria they have dug up Roman projectiles with messages on them such as..."Octavian has a shrunken (biological male organ)," and other insulting messages for Octavian or Mark Antony and Cleopatra.
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2019
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  10. Plumbata

    Plumbata Well-Known Member

    I'm an equal opportunity collector when it comes to sling bullets (just got a sling stone from Guam), but the Roman ones tend to be much more infrequently offered or expensive if they do show up. They're much more frequently faked than the Greek ones too. Good inscribed Sertorian War and Caesar's Civil War examples still come from Spain occasionally but I haven't nabbed any yet.
     
  11. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    ROMAN SLING STONES

    I got them from a long-established, reputable dealer.

    Roman Sling Stone 200 BCE - 400 CE Almond Shaped PB lead 37x14mm 41.2g.JPG
    Roman Sling Stone 200 BCE - 400 CE Almond Shaped PB lead 37x14mm 41.2g


    Roman Sling Stone 200 BCE - 400 CE Almond Shaped PB lead 34x14mm 42.4g.JPG
    Roman Sling Stone 200 BCE - 400 CE Almond Shaped PB lead 34x14mm 42.4g
     
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  12. I have a few with a possible Lysimachos
    Alexander drachm 1.png
    Alexander
    Alexander drachm 2.png
    Alexander
    Alexander Drachm in the name of, possibly Lysimachos.png
    In the name of Alexander, possibly Lysimachos after defeating Antigonos
    Antigonos I Monophthalmos Drachm.png
    Antigonos I Monophthalmos
     
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  13. TheRed

    TheRed Well-Known Member

    Very nice drachm @Sallent congrats on the coin. The coins of Kolophon are really attractive, and some of the most recognizable drachms minted by the Diadochi. I'll add a coin that comes from Pergamon and was minted to honor Seleukos after his death.
    20180810_092048.jpg
    Seleukos I Nikator AR Tetradrachm circa 280 B.C. Pergamon mint. Struck under Philetairos, in the name of Seleukos I, types of Alexander III of Macedon.
    29.5mm, 17.12 g.
    Obv. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin.
    Rev: Zeus Aëtophorus seated left; in left field, helmeted head of Athena right; crescent below throne.
    SC 308b; HGC 9, 125a.
     
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  14. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    That's a nice bunch of symbols on that one.

    Lysimachos - Tetradrachm Klazomenai 3403.jpg
    KINGS OF THRACE. Lysimachos
    AR Tetradrachm. 16.78g, 29.1mm. Klazomenai mint, 294-290 BC. Thompson –; Müller 129 var. (monogram); Meydancikkale 2719 var. (same); CNG E-322, lot 114 (same dies). O: Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, with horn of Ammon. R: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ – ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ, Athena Nikephoros seated left, left arm resting on shield, spear behind; monograms above arm and on throne, ram's head left in exergue.
    Ex William Stancomb Collection, purchased from David Miller
     
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  15. cmezner

    cmezner do ut des Supporter

    Awesome coins guys! on some one can see Lysimachos as a really fiery general and ruler.

    Tetradrachm, 29 x 30 mm, 16.88 g
    uncertain mint, Alexandreia Troas (?) 297 -281 BC
    Ref.: Mueller 484; Gülnar 2/2657
    Obv.: Diademed head of deified Alexander r. with horn of Ammon
    Rev.: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ Athena seated l., holding Nike on extended r. hand, resting l. arm on grounded shield decorated with gorgoneion, transverse spear in background, ME in ex.
    upload_2019-5-11_20-48-39.png upload_2019-5-11_20-48-57.png
    and a Tetradrachm from Amphipolis, 288/7-282/1 BC
    29 x 31 mm, 17.18 g
    Ref.:Thompson 211 var. (second monogram); Müller 544–546 var.
    Obv.: Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, with horn of Ammon; border of dots
    Rev.: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΛYΣIMAXOY Athena Nikephoros seated left, left arm resting on shield decorated with a lion’s head, transverse spear in background; ΩΠY monogram to inner left and monogram on throne
    upload_2019-5-11_20-56-32.png upload_2019-5-11_20-56-48.png
     
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  16. Orange Julius

    Orange Julius Well-Known Member

    That's a very cool coin! Here are a couple of my Lysimachos I coins:
    LysimachosISngCop1159.jpg
    LysimachosISngCop1149.jpg
     
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  17. Terence Cheesman

    Terence Cheesman Well-Known Member

    This is my Lysimachos stater. It is from Byzantium and therefore posthumous. But at least it is an early one of these. lysimachos9.jpeg
     
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