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Obverse: Head of
Athena right in a crested Corinthian helmet.
Reverse: Nike standing left, holding a wreath and ship’s mast; to the
right, ALESANAPOY.
The reference used for
this coin is The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great and Philip
Arrhidaeus by Martin J. Price.
Alexander III
succeeded his father, Philip II, on the Macedonian throne. In a reign
of only thirteen years he was able to accomplish military feats that
stand unequaled to this day. By B. C. 330 he was already the
acknowledged leader of an empire that covered a million square miles.
Alexander was more than a military genius. He had studied as a pupil of
Aristotle and was familiar not only with strategy and tactics, but
mathematics and philosophy, art, literature and theater. At his
untimely death at the age of thirty-two, he was King of the Greeks,
Pharaoh of Egypt, ruler of Persia and King of Asia.
His coinage
reflects the immense wealth he accumulated during his conquests. For
his gold coinage, Alexander chose the universal types that would appeal
not only to the Greeks but also throughout his empire. The obverse head
of Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet was symbolic of the goddess of
wisdom, patroness of agriculture, industry and the arts. She guided men
through the dangers of war, where victory was gained by prudence,
courage and perseverance. The reverse type of Nike holding a wreath and
ship’s mast marks a continuation of Alexander’s claim to be the leader
of the Greek states. In addition, Nike was considered the Greek goddess
of victory. Nike was depicted as a woman, usually winged, holding a
wreath. In this pose, this could have been interpreted as a sign of
peace throughout the empire. The Macedonian Stater became the
predominant gold trade coin of the time. The coinage was issued at
mints from one end of Alexander’s empire to the other. The coin was so
universally recognized that the mintage of coins in the name of
Alexander continued in various parts of the Greek world until late in
the first Century B. C., some two hundred years after his death. There
are over 1,000 mint symbols for gold coinage of Alexander the Great.
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