I have recently had to endure a significant lack of targets. This has made it extremely hard to deny the little coin devil on my shoulder telling me to buy everything in sight... Jokes aside, things have been extremely dry for me lately. My primary collecting area contains coins that are all relatively rare and do not come up for sale often. Thus I find myself having to "pass the time" with other coins that I find interesting Browsing Stack's NYINC sale I came upon a BEEautiful "bee type" issued by Lysimachus in Ephesus. Having already acquired a drachm featuing a nice bee I thought they'd complete a nice little set together. I placed a reasonably low pre-bid and to my suprise, I won! Welcome to the beehive. Lysimachus (305-281 BC). AR Tetradrachm in the name and type of Alexander III. Ephesus. Struck 295/4 - 289/8 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lionskin headdress / Zeus seated left, holding eagle and sceptre, ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ. In the left field, bee above [E]ΦE. 17.01 g, 25.5 mm. Price 1876. Graded by NGC: EF, Strike: 4/5 Surface: 3/5. Stack's NYINC Auction Jan 2022, lot 6077 Kings of Macedon. Alexander III (336-323 BC). AR Drachm. Magnesia ad Maeandrum. Struck 323-319 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lionskin headdress / ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus seated left, holding eagle and sceptre. In left field, bee to right; In the right field, spearhead. 4.21 g, 17 mm. Price 1937
I didn't do a 2021 "year in review" thread, but maybe I'll be able to do a "first coin of 2022" thread. When that happens.
Nice way to start the year. My only Alexander-type tetradrachm has a bee, but it is Seleucid, from Babylon: Seleukos I Nikator Tetradrachm (c. 311-300 B.C.) Babylon Mint Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / AΛEΞANΔPOY right; [BAΣIΛEΩΣ] below; Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; MI above bee in left field; MYP monogram in wreath below throne. Price 3754; SC 82.2b (17.02 grams / 23 mm) eBay Jan. 2019
Oh man! Sorry to see you got bugs all over your new coin I ordered one last month and had a similar issue: Jk. In all seriousness, that is a seriously awesome coin. And double so now a big brother for your Drachm
Wow!! I love this.. Do you have the attribution for it? The sharp CM combined with its extremely circulated undertype makes for such a cool composition!
Thanks so much! I always enjoy your coinage. And certainly: LYCIA,TERMESSOS. Æs, 1st century BC Chr .; 22mm, 4.22 g. Zeus head right, behind it scepter // winged lightning, round counterstamp: bee. SNG v. Aulock 4455; SNG France 2091; Kosmetikatou, Elizabeth, The Coinage of Lycian Termessos pros Oinoandois, in: Quaderni Ticinesi XXVII (1998), Series I, No. 39. SNG v. Aulock 4455. Brown patina,