A gold stater of Alexander the Great, struck at the royal mint of Amphipolis in the late fourth century BC. The obverse carries the head of Athena in a triple-crested Corinthian helmet, the bowl decorated with a coiled serpent, her hair falling in corkscrew curls over her left shoulder. The reverse shows Nike, the winged goddess of victory, standing with a wreath in her outstretched right hand and a stylis, the mast of a warship, cradled in her left arm, beside the legend ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, "of Alexander." In the left field is the control mark of this issue, a trident head, the emblem of Poseidon.
Alexander introduced the Athena and Nike stater as the gold coinage of his empire, and the mints continued striking it in his name long after his death in 323 BC. Martin Price dated this issue to circa 330 to 320 BC, spanning the king's final years, while more recent scholarship places it under Cassander, circa 310 to 301 BC, the ruler who governed Macedon after Alexander's line was extinguished yet kept the conqueror's name on his gold. Either way, the coin belongs to the great Macedonian series struck at Amphipolis, the principal royal mint, within living memory of Alexander himself.
The coin weighs 8.59 grams and measures 19 millimeters. It is graded MS★ by NGC: Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5; the star denotes exceptional eye appeal. Certification 4885147-009.
Reference: Price 175.
Other examples of this type are held in the following collections:
The British Museum, London
The American Numismatic Society, New York
The Münzkabinett, Berlin
The Swiss National Museum, Zurich
At 8.59 grams, the present coin sits at the center of the recorded weight range for the type.
A gold stater of Alexander the Great, struck at the royal mint of Amphipolis in the late fourth century BC. The obverse carries the head of Athena in a triple-crested Corinthian helmet, the bowl decorated with a coiled serpent, her hair falling in corkscrew curls over her left shoulder. The reverse shows Nike, the winged goddess of victory, standing with a wreath in her outstretched right hand and a stylis, the mast of a warship, cradled in her left arm, beside the legend ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, "of Alexander." In the left field is the control mark of this issue, a trident head, the emblem of Poseidon.
Alexander introduced the Athena and Nike stater as the gold coinage of his empire, and the mints continued striking it in his name long after his death in 323 BC. Martin Price dated this issue to circa 330 to 320 BC, spanning the king's final years, while more recent scholarship places it under Cassander, circa 310 to 301 BC, the ruler who governed Macedon after Alexander's line was extinguished yet kept the conqueror's name on his gold. Either way, the coin belongs to the great Macedonian series struck at Amphipolis, the principal royal mint, within living memory of Alexander himself.
The coin weighs 8.59 grams and measures 19 millimeters. It is graded MS★ by NGC: Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5; the star denotes exceptional eye appeal. Certification 4885147-009.
Reference: Price 175.
Other examples of this type are held in the following collections:
The British Museum, London
The American Numismatic Society, New York
The Münzkabinett, Berlin
The Swiss National Museum, Zurich
At 8.59 grams, the present coin sits at the center of the recorded weight range for the type.
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