Here’s my new purchase a nice posthumous tetradrachm Alexander III, 250-175 BC Minted at Mesembria in Thrace Obv: Head of Herakles, right, wearing lionskin headdress. Rev: Zeus std. left, holding eagle and scepter; BASILEWS to right, ALEXANDROY to left; Corinthian helmet in left field, ^-A beneath throne. Weight 16.39 g Diameter 33 mm Price 1027 Karayotov | 70 (023/R79); Although I’m happy with it somebody commented to me that they think It may be a forgery are there any experts on these to cast an eye over it ?
I think it looks okay, but I don't pretend to be an expert in these coins. Where did you get it? Mine I know is fine. Alexander III the Great (336 - 323 B.C.) AR Tetradrachm O: Head of Alexander as Hercules right, wearing lion-skin headdress. R: AΛEΞAN∆POY, Zeus enthroned left, right leg forward (archaic lifetime style), eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, bow on left. Salamis mint, struck 332-323 B.C. 16.95g 25mm Price 3139 ; SNG Alpha Bank 662; Newell. Salamis 7. Lifetime Issue
Very nice , obviously authentic. I purchased from a dealer he says it’s been verified by Roma numismatics a certain Clementine Bowring ?
These coins were made after Herakles had let go of himself after settling down. The art does look weird when compared to the early tetradrachms, but I think yours is still genuine. I also like the large flan they used to strike these types. In name of Alexander III, Aeolis, Temnos mint ~188-170 BC, 35 mm, 15.2 g. Obv: Head of Heracles wearing lion skin headdress. Rev: Zeus Aëtophoros seated holding eagle and sceptre; monogram and E above knee, oinochoe within vine tendril at feet. Price 1676.
Haha yeah he does some to have put some weight on later in life ! , that’s a nice one as. I do like these larger sizes they are very nice in - hand
IMO, 2 straightened legs side by side is 'usually' a good indicator that the coin is. a lifetime mintage. This is not true in all cases but, as mentioned, a possible indicator. J.T.
I believe this one is actually from Tarsos, likely Price 2999. The styles are similar for Tarsos and Myriandros but this one immediately struck me as being more "Tarsos" in style and I believe it's a double die match with this example of Price 2999.
As mentioned by others, the parallel legs of Zeus is a clue but IMO it shouldn't serve as anything more than a starting point, I wouldn't make a determination about lifetime vs posthumous on the leg position alone. Instead, you have to check the literature for that type to see what the current estimate for the minting date is. For most Alexander types, this is still Price's work from 1991 and you can check his attributions using the PELLA database that I linked above. His work is 30 years old at this point so some attributions are outdated (or were even wrong at the time) so you then have to check to see if there's any more recent research on those types or conflicting research from back when Price published his work. Price dates the type with the bow in the left field from Salamis to 332-323 BC but he doesn't offer any specific evidence for that dating aside from noting they're likely linked to the gold staters that share the same symbol. Troxell may have written more about them since but I can't recall off the top of my head. Based on other aspects of the style, and when the other Cypriot mints were likely active, I'd say a date between 327-320 BC is most likely for that type. It's probably a lifetime type but I don't think there's any specific evidence to confirm it.
@Kaleun96 Thank you for the information. I would like to add a lifetime issue from the Great One. No not Jackie Gleason
No problem! Price 2999 is actually quite cool since it's one of a handful of Alexander types with no apparent controls or symbols, and a lifetime type to boot. Most of the other "no symbol" types are posthumous so Price 2999 can sometimes fetch a little bit of a premium at auction over similar types from that period of Tarsos.
UPDATE: truncated attribution - Makedon Alexander III Lifetime AR Tet 333-327 BCE, Tarsus, Herakles, Zeus seated, eagle right hnd, scepter, no symbol, PRICE 2999
