Picked up this Cassander bronze recently, I think it is a pretty looking coin. Obverse: Head of beardless Herakles right, wearing lion skin Reverse: BASILEWS KASSANDROU, above and beneath horseman riding right, crowning horse with a wreath, Star in right field, Φ monogram beneath horse. Weight: 7,16g Size: 20mm I kind of hate Cassander because of ending Alexander's blood line, however he is kind of interesting. Cassander initiated extensive building programs, he founded new cities and issued his own coins. Only bronze coins bear his name, while his silver coinage continues with the names and types of Alexander the Great and Philip II. The weight of Cassander and Alexander bronzes are very much alike. Also because numerous Cassanders are overstruck on Alexanders. So, a coin of 5-8 grams weight and 18-21 mm diameter is called a “unit”. A “half-unit” weighs 3-5 grams and has a diameter of 16-19 mm. And a “quarter-unit” weighs about 2 grams with a flan measuring 13-14 mm. There are some “double units” as well, weighing over 8 grams with a diameter of 20-23 mm. Cassander’s first bronze issue bears the unbearded head of Heracles wearing lion scalp on the obverse and a seated lion on the reverse. These coins were almost exclusively overstruck on Alexander the Great half-units bearing as types a diademed young male head and a gallopping horse. The inscription reads KASSANDROU without any indication of the royal title. From 305 on, Cassander follows the example of his rivals and assumes the royal title. From that moment on, he is referred to as “BASILEWS” Cassandros on every bronze he issued ever since. Cassander’s most common unit type has a horseman on the reverse. These coins are being struck until the end of Cassander’s reign and cover some fifty percent of the Cassander bronzes. The head of Heracles as an obverse is traditionally attributed to the mint of Pella.
Very nice example, with a complete legend! Here's one of the first issues you mention: As I recall, Cassander does not get a favourable treatment in Mary Renault's famous Alexander novels. (If any of you haven't read these, you really should! Here's the first one.)
That is a nice OP coin, especially with the full legends. Usually they are cut off like my specimen. I'll throw in my other Kassander coins into the mix as well... Macedonian Kingdom: Kassander (316-297 BCE) Æ Unit, Pella or Amphipolis (SNG Alpha Bank 917) Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress Rev: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΚΑΣΣΑΝ-ΔΡΟΥ; Youth on horseback right, extending arm in salute; above, T; before, star; below, monogram Macedonian Kingdom: Kassander (316-297 BCE) Æ Unit, Pella or Amphipolis (SNG Alpha Bank 876) Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress Rev: ΚΑΣΣΑΝ-ΔΡΟΥ; Lion reclining right; in right field, HP monogram Macedonian Kingdom: Kassander (317-298 BCE) AR Tetradrachm, Amphipolis (Price 468; Ehrhardt 36) Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress Rev: AΛEΞANΔPOY; Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; in left field, Λ above torch; kantharos below throne
