I cannot identify precisely this obol : Alexander III, AR obol, AR 9 mm, 0.67 g. Obv.: head of Herakles right wearing lion-skin Rev.: ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡοΥ, Zeus enthroned left resting on sceptre and holding eagle, in left field monogram (Price monogram 119) or is it (Price monogram 121)? This obol is not listed in Price or later literature about Alexander silver coinage, but it is not so rare: in ACSearch, with the search terms Alexander obol, I can find at least 8 similar obols attributed to Arados or Byblos, with various proposed dates, one of them ( https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1872542 ) being a possible obv. die link. Price monogram 119 is for Arados, but it is only attested on 2nd c. BC tetradrachms. This obol, with Zeus' parallel legs, is obviously older, of the 4th c. BC. Price monogram 121 is attested on tetradrachms from Byblos dated 330-320 (Price 3424), but on the obols the monogram looks much more like 119 than like 121. All suggestions are welcome.
Very cool, @GinoLR ! I really like that little guy. Here is mine, but is, unfortunately, no real help to you... Alexander III Obol Makedon Alexander III 336-323 BCE AR Obol 7mm 0.51g Babylon Lifetime Herakles lion skin Club bow quiver wreath M Price 3744
My best guess is what you've already guessed - Byblos. This obol (from Byblos) has a similar monogram to yours. Although it's not super-rare, it doesn't seem to be published anywhere. Here's my Alexander hemi-obol. I have another one from Aspesias I haven't photographed yet. Alexander IIIBabylon mint 317-311 BCE by Peithon son of Agenor Hemiobol .46g Head of Heracles right wearing a lion skin Club, bow and quiver. Monogram to right Price 3729
Interesting indeed! but I don't think this obol is from the Babylon mint. With a B in left field, it is Price 3408, attributed to Berytus (Beirut, Lebanon). The ANS Pella database seems to assimilate different specimens and pays no attention to legends. They show 2 specimens, one from Berlin with Zeus legs parallel and another one from London (BM 2002,0101.776) with legs crossed like yours - I even suspect it could be a reverse die match. It is probably later than the Berlin specimen. The legend is not ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ but an abbreviated form.
