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HOME :
Greek Coins :
Numismatic Masterpieces : Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander the Great
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Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander the Great - C.730
Origin: Mediterranean
Circa: 336
BC
to 323
BC
Collection: Numismatics
Medium: Silver
Additional Information: SOLD
$4,500.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
Obverse: Alexander in the Guise of
Hercules
Reverse: Zeus Seated Holding an Eagles
and Scepter
How many hands have touched a coin in
your pocket or your purse? What eras and
lands have the coin traversed on its
journey into our possession? As we reach
into our pockets to pull out some
change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who touched the coin before us, or where
the coin will venture to after us. More
than money, coins are a symbol of the
state that struck them, of a specific
time and place, whether currency in the
age we live or an artifact of a long
forgotten empire. Worth a month’s pay, a
silver coin like this would have
rewarded the bravery and fortitude of
the officers serving under one of
history’s most celebrated generals,
Alexander the Great. Son to King Phillip
II of Macedon, tutored in his youth by
Aristotle, Alexander conquered one of
the largest kingdoms the world has ever
known. Marching from Egypt, through Asia
Minor, and into the heart of central
Asia, Alexander lead a swift and
successful military campaign that
defeated the potent Persians and
stretched the edges of Hellenic
civilization to new lands. While his
vast empire dissolved after his death,
the carefully cultivated legend of
Alexander will continue to live on not
only in our history books and museums,
but also in artifacts like this coin:
concrete remnants of ancient empires
passed from the hands of civilization to
civilization, from generation to
generation.
- (C.730)
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