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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;AncientJoe, post: 1919247, member: 44357&quot;]I was intending to make a larger post about Alexander the Great&#039;s coinage as a whole, but due to time constraints, will cut it short to just this new purchase for the moment.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y342/AncientJoe/Alexander_zps9dc1d26c.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><i>Macedonia, Philip II; Colophon, c. 322 BC, Stater, 8.65g. Le Rider pl. 90, 16. Obv: Laureate head of Apollo r., with features of Alexander the Great. Rx: Fast biga driven r. by charioteer with hair streaming in wind and holding goad; below forelegs of horses, tripod; ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ in exergue.This is the very special issue that is universally thought to bear the portrait of Alexander himself. The coin is struck in high relief and the portrait is sculptural in nature. Finest quality possible. Exquisite Mint State</i></p><p><br /></p><p>This coin is one of a very small group of staters struck in the name of Philip II which bear portraits of individuals rather than generic heads of Apollo and is stylistically unlike any of the previous issues. Struck in Kolophon and in Magnesia from a single obverse die that was used by both mints, this coin was produced during the short reign of Philip III Arrhidaios. The coin’s beauty and importance has made it one of the most desirable and exciting of all the gold staters in the name of Philip II.</p><p><br /></p><p>Most of these staters are unclear in who they depict, but this piece, minted within a year of the death of Alexander the Great, clearly bears a portrait of Alexander himself, and is one of the earliest of all portraits we have of him.</p><p><br /></p><p>While it lacks the customary forehead cowlick or &quot;anastole&quot; found in most images of Alexander the Great, the uncanny resemblance of the facial features are identical to those on known portraits of him showing that the uncommonly talented die engraver is seeking to evoke the great conqueror with this magnificent depiction.</p><p><br /></p><p>In this amalgamation of King and God by the engraver, we see a wholly justified comparison: as Apollo was known as Phanaios - ‘bringer of light’, so was Alexander seen as having carried the light of Hellenic culture to the farthest reaches of the known world.</p><p><br /></p><p>The issue seems intended to legitimize the patchwork Macedonian regime put together by Alexander&#039;s generals after his death in Babylon under the figurehead rulers Philip III Arrhidaeus and the infant Alexander IV, his posthumously born son. As such the &quot;Philip&quot; named on the reverse should probably be seen as referring to Arrhidaeus rather than the traditional attribution to Philip II.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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