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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Terence Cheesman, post: 7410320, member: 86498&quot;]There is one slight problem to all of this and it is this coin,[ATTACH=full]1288102[/ATTACH]I must report that&nbsp; <span style="color: #ff0000">THIS is NOT my Coin</span>&nbsp; I believe this one is in the BM Looking at this coin one might assume that it is is one of the numberless versions of the Alexander III coinage but you would be wrong. It is a stater of Perdikkas III which according to Hoover in the HGC was minted circa 365-359 BC which would make it a full 10 years before Alexander was even born. The Argead Dynasty of Macedon claimed decent from Herakles thus that deity does appear very frequently on the coinage.</p><p>&nbsp; The Alexander sarcophagus which was found in the necropolis of ancient Sidon is unusual in that it is the only more or less contemporary depiction of Alexander in a&nbsp; helmet made to look like the head of a lion. Being in a necropolis this image was not meant for mass consumption. This depiction furthermore is different from the coins as the the forepaws of the lion are absent. Thus the coins are clearly depicting the lionskin emblematic of Herakles.</p><p>&nbsp;One must always remember that&nbsp; art prior to the advent of other mediums such as photography was the primary means of spreading information using a visual medium.&nbsp; Thus it become extremely important to make certain that the information given can be easily understood and appreciated by the target audience. However a problem does emerge when dealing with a number of individuals who do look very similar to each other. This issue was solved by the Greeks by adding an adjunct object or familial animal. Thus Zeus a mature male coupled with his eagle and lightning bolt can be distinguished from Poseidon with his trident. Athena is a helmeted female with an owl. Apollo is a young male wearing a laureate crown and with a lyre.&nbsp; This concept is carried on in Christian art as the usual depiction of St Peter is a mature man with keys St Paul with a book&nbsp; Mary with a blue veil and the four evangelists with familial animals. This standardization is important as an individual could go into any church in Christendom and without knowing how to read could figure out who was on the walls.</p><p>&nbsp; A very short time ago on another thread I presented this coin an Ae 22 minted by Hiketas in Syracuse. [ATTACH=full]1288120[/ATTACH]At first glance one would expect to see this as an depiction of Apollo. He is a clean shaven younger man laureate. However one would be incorrect. This individual is actually Zeus Hellanios. To make certain that the target audience would correctly interpret who this deity is, his name DIOS HELLANIOS (I do not know how to put Greek letters in this thread so bear with me<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie3" alt=":(" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />) is inscribed on the obverse. The identity is further cemented by the presence of the familial animal of Zeus an eagle standing on a thunderbolt his adjunct symbol. None of this was done on the coinage of Alexander.</p><p>&nbsp;So in conclusion there is little chance that we are looking a a portrait of Alexander. The obverse of his silver coin is well within the lexicon of images used by his predecessors and there is no effort to identify him as such on the coin. The lion&nbsp; helmet is more or less unique and is clearly different from the lion skin depicted on the coins. I should note that this theory <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie20" alt=":banghead:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />like a bad penny, about every 10 year or so emerges and then dies .[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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