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<p>[QUOTE="Curtisimo, post: 4278388, member: 83845"]This coin is extra cool because it is a lifetime issue of Alexander the Great and because it used to belong to my friend [USER=84744]@Severus Alexander[/USER] ! It’s a humble coin at first glance but punches way above its price bracket in terms of cool historical interest.</p><p><br /></p><p>These coins were made to circulate locally in western Macedonia and were probably struck at the ancestral capital city of Aegeae or possibly at the administrative capital of Pella. But who is shown on the coin and what does it reference? There are a few interesting possibilities.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1088946[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3">KINGS OF MACEDON: Alexander III 'the Great' (336-323 BCE), lifetime issue.</font></p><p><font size="3">AE15 “half unit.” Macedonian mint. </font></p><p><font size="3">Dia.: 15 mm</font></p><p><font size="3">Wt.: 4.13 g</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: Diademed head right.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: AΛEΞANΔPOY, Horse prancing right; below, torch.</font></p><p><font size="3">Ref.: Price 338.</font></p><p><i><font size="3">Ex AMCC 2, lot 23 (Nov. 9, 2019)</font></i></p><p><br /></p><p><b><font size="7"><span style="color: #404040"><u>Karanos:</u></span></font> <font size="6"><span style="color: #808080">the First Macedonian King</span></font></b></p><p><br /></p><p>By the time of Alexander the Great, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caranus_of_Macedon" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caranus_of_Macedon" rel="nofollow">Karanos</a> was the officially recognized founder of the Agread dynasty to which Alexander belonged. This legendary king was central to the Macedonian royal family’s claim of decent from southern Greece.</p><p><br /></p><p>Karanos was the son of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temenus" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temenus" rel="nofollow">Temenus</a>, who was one of the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracleidae" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracleidae" rel="nofollow">Heracleidae</a> kings that conquered the Mycenaean Peloponnese and as a result became king of Argos. After the death of Temenus, Karanos lost out in a power struggle for the kingship and decided to leave Argos and consult the oracle at Delphi. The oracle advised him to found a settlement on the Haliakman River at the first place were he encountered goats grazing [2]. There he founded the settlement of Aegeae (derived from the Greek word for goat).</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1088885[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3"><i>The “palace” of Aegeae, built under Philip II. This building is one of the possible locations for the striking of my above example.</i></font></p><p><br /></p><p>Hoard evidence suggests that these coins were struck in western Macedonia [1]. If struck at Aegeae for local circulation then associating the diademed head on the obverse with the mythic first king would seem to make this interpretation very plausible.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><font size="7"><span style="color: #404040"><u>Rhesus:</u></span></font> <font size="6"><span style="color: #808080">Thracian King in the Iliad</span></font></b></p><p><br /></p><p>Rhesus was a Thracian king who met an unfortunate end in <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D10" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D10" rel="nofollow">book 10 of the Iliad</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>The story begins when Dolon, a Trojan spy, is captured by Diomedes and Odysseus. Dolon tells the Greek heroes that the Thracian king, Rhesus, has recently arrived to assist the Trojans and that he and his weary soldiers are sleeping at a vulnerable spot at the edge of the camp. He tells them that Rhesus possesses the swiftest and greatest horses among the Trojans and that he also possessed god-like arms and armor made of gold.</p><p><br /></p><p>Armed with this information, Diomedes and Odysseus set upon and kill Rhesus and his men in their sleep and steal the magnificent horses.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1088881[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3"><i>Diomedes and Odysseus stealing the horses of Rhesus. The slain Thracians shown above. Painted ca. 360 BC.</i></font></p><p><br /></p><p>This ignominious end for Rhesus in the Iliad would hardly seem to justify the development of a local hero cult in Thrace but it seems that this is exactly what happened. In the 5th century a play attributed to Euripides titled <i>Rhesus</i> shows how the details of Rhesus’s life were later expanded. In the play, Rhesus is said to be the son of the river god Strymon and one of the nine muses. At the end of the play Rhesus’s mother appears to announce that he will be resurrected and become immortal, but he will have to spend eternity living in a cave (usually taken to be the caves of the Pangaion Hills mountain range).</p><p><br /></p><p>So what does this have to do with Macedonian coins? Ancient writers associate Rhesus as a legendary king of the Bisaltae tribe. This tribe, who lived near the mouth of the Strymon River, were among the first people in the region to issue coins in the late 6th / early 5th century BC. These coins show a horse and figure holding two spears that is thought to be a depiction of Rhesus [2][3]. When the Macedonian kingdom under Alexander I annexed the territory of the Bisaltae during the Persian Wars he adopted the design of the Bisaltae coins for his regal coinage essentially unchanged.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1088882[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3"><i>A coin attributed to the Bisaltae. Photo courtesy of CNG </i></font></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1088884[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3"><i>A coin attributed to the Macedonian king Alexander I. Photo courtesy of CNG</i></font></p><p><br /></p><p>Therefore, if the OP coin struck under Alexander III is a reference back to earlier regal coins, as it appears to be, then it is entirely possible that the head on the obverse shows Rhesus and the reverse is a reference to his magnificent horses mentioned in the Iliad.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><font size="7"><span style="color: #404040"><u>Apollo:</u></span></font> <font size="6"><span style="color: #808080">Because he is Young and Pretty?</span></font></b></p><p><br /></p><p>Another common attribution for the head on the obverse seems to be Apollo. Price [1] discounts this theory as less likely than other possibilities but I think it can’t be ruled out entirely. Apollo appears on other Macedonian coins of the period and anytime you have a young, clean shaven, male head on a coin, Apollo has got to be on the list of usual suspects.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1088883[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3"><i>Apollo - “Yes I use special shampoo AND conditioner”</i></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="6"><span style="color: #808080"><b><u>References</u></b></span></font></p><p><br /></p><p>[1] Price, Martin. <i>The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus</i>. The Swiss Numismatic Society in Association with British Museum Press. London, 1991</p><p><br /></p><p>[2] Isaac, Benjamin H. <i>The Greek Settlements in Thrace Until the Macedonian Conquest</i>. Brill, 1986</p><p><br /></p><p>[3] Head, Barclay V. Catalogue of the Greek Coins, Macedonia etc. London, 1879</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center">......................................</p><p><br /></p><p>So what do you think? Please vote on your favorite interpretation in the above poll.</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="5">Also please post your;</font></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Lifetime Alexander coins</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Bisaltae coins</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Coins with founder heroes </span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Coins showing characters from the Iliad</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Apollo looking pretty</span></p></blockquote><p>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Curtisimo, post: 4278388, member: 83845"]This coin is extra cool because it is a lifetime issue of Alexander the Great and because it used to belong to my friend [USER=84744]@Severus Alexander[/USER] ! It’s a humble coin at first glance but punches way above its price bracket in terms of cool historical interest. These coins were made to circulate locally in western Macedonia and were probably struck at the ancestral capital city of Aegeae or possibly at the administrative capital of Pella. But who is shown on the coin and what does it reference? There are a few interesting possibilities. [ATTACH=full]1088946[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3]KINGS OF MACEDON: Alexander III 'the Great' (336-323 BCE), lifetime issue. AE15 “half unit.” Macedonian mint. Dia.: 15 mm Wt.: 4.13 g Obv: Diademed head right. Rev: AΛEΞANΔPOY, Horse prancing right; below, torch. Ref.: Price 338.[/SIZE] [I][SIZE=3]Ex AMCC 2, lot 23 (Nov. 9, 2019)[/SIZE][/I] [B][SIZE=7][COLOR=#404040][U]Karanos:[/U][/COLOR][/SIZE] [SIZE=6][COLOR=#808080]the First Macedonian King[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B] By the time of Alexander the Great, [URL='https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caranus_of_Macedon']Karanos[/URL] was the officially recognized founder of the Agread dynasty to which Alexander belonged. This legendary king was central to the Macedonian royal family’s claim of decent from southern Greece. Karanos was the son of [URL='https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temenus']Temenus[/URL], who was one of the [URL='https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracleidae']Heracleidae[/URL] kings that conquered the Mycenaean Peloponnese and as a result became king of Argos. After the death of Temenus, Karanos lost out in a power struggle for the kingship and decided to leave Argos and consult the oracle at Delphi. The oracle advised him to found a settlement on the Haliakman River at the first place were he encountered goats grazing [2]. There he founded the settlement of Aegeae (derived from the Greek word for goat). [ATTACH=full]1088885[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3][I]The “palace” of Aegeae, built under Philip II. This building is one of the possible locations for the striking of my above example.[/I][/SIZE] Hoard evidence suggests that these coins were struck in western Macedonia [1]. If struck at Aegeae for local circulation then associating the diademed head on the obverse with the mythic first king would seem to make this interpretation very plausible. [B][SIZE=7][COLOR=#404040][U]Rhesus:[/U][/COLOR][/SIZE] [SIZE=6][COLOR=#808080]Thracian King in the Iliad[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B] Rhesus was a Thracian king who met an unfortunate end in [URL='http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D10']book 10 of the Iliad[/URL]. The story begins when Dolon, a Trojan spy, is captured by Diomedes and Odysseus. Dolon tells the Greek heroes that the Thracian king, Rhesus, has recently arrived to assist the Trojans and that he and his weary soldiers are sleeping at a vulnerable spot at the edge of the camp. He tells them that Rhesus possesses the swiftest and greatest horses among the Trojans and that he also possessed god-like arms and armor made of gold. Armed with this information, Diomedes and Odysseus set upon and kill Rhesus and his men in their sleep and steal the magnificent horses. [ATTACH=full]1088881[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3][I]Diomedes and Odysseus stealing the horses of Rhesus. The slain Thracians shown above. Painted ca. 360 BC.[/I][/SIZE] This ignominious end for Rhesus in the Iliad would hardly seem to justify the development of a local hero cult in Thrace but it seems that this is exactly what happened. In the 5th century a play attributed to Euripides titled [I]Rhesus[/I] shows how the details of Rhesus’s life were later expanded. In the play, Rhesus is said to be the son of the river god Strymon and one of the nine muses. At the end of the play Rhesus’s mother appears to announce that he will be resurrected and become immortal, but he will have to spend eternity living in a cave (usually taken to be the caves of the Pangaion Hills mountain range). So what does this have to do with Macedonian coins? Ancient writers associate Rhesus as a legendary king of the Bisaltae tribe. This tribe, who lived near the mouth of the Strymon River, were among the first people in the region to issue coins in the late 6th / early 5th century BC. These coins show a horse and figure holding two spears that is thought to be a depiction of Rhesus [2][3]. When the Macedonian kingdom under Alexander I annexed the territory of the Bisaltae during the Persian Wars he adopted the design of the Bisaltae coins for his regal coinage essentially unchanged. [ATTACH=full]1088882[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3][I]A coin attributed to the Bisaltae. Photo courtesy of CNG [/I][/SIZE] [ATTACH=full]1088884[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3][I]A coin attributed to the Macedonian king Alexander I. Photo courtesy of CNG[/I][/SIZE] Therefore, if the OP coin struck under Alexander III is a reference back to earlier regal coins, as it appears to be, then it is entirely possible that the head on the obverse shows Rhesus and the reverse is a reference to his magnificent horses mentioned in the Iliad. [B][SIZE=7][COLOR=#404040][U]Apollo:[/U][/COLOR][/SIZE] [SIZE=6][COLOR=#808080]Because he is Young and Pretty?[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B] Another common attribution for the head on the obverse seems to be Apollo. Price [1] discounts this theory as less likely than other possibilities but I think it can’t be ruled out entirely. Apollo appears on other Macedonian coins of the period and anytime you have a young, clean shaven, male head on a coin, Apollo has got to be on the list of usual suspects. [ATTACH=full]1088883[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3][I]Apollo - “Yes I use special shampoo AND conditioner”[/I][/SIZE] [SIZE=6][COLOR=#808080][B][U]References[/U][/B][/COLOR][/SIZE] [1] Price, Martin. [I]The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus[/I]. The Swiss Numismatic Society in Association with British Museum Press. London, 1991 [2] Isaac, Benjamin H. [I]The Greek Settlements in Thrace Until the Macedonian Conquest[/I]. Brill, 1986 [3] Head, Barclay V. Catalogue of the Greek Coins, Macedonia etc. London, 1879 [CENTER]......................................[/CENTER] So what do you think? Please vote on your favorite interpretation in the above poll. [SIZE=5]Also please post your;[/SIZE] [INDENT][COLOR=#ff0000]Lifetime Alexander coins Bisaltae coins Coins with founder heroes Coins showing characters from the Iliad Apollo looking pretty[/COLOR][/INDENT][/QUOTE]
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