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Numismatic Auction 35 23 June 2015
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Macedonian Kingdom. Alexander III the Great. 336-323 B.C. AR hemidrachm (13 mm, 1.77 g, 12 h). Contemporary imitation(?). Uncertain mint, but likely copying Babylon. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress / B ΣIΛΣΩ[...](?) in exergue, AΛEΞAΛΝΔC(?), Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter; in left field, M. Price -; Hersh -. VF, light porosity.
From the Kenneth Miller Collection of Ake-Ptolemaïs and Related Biblical Coins. Ex Dr. Jonathan A. Herbst Collection (Superior, 8-9 December 1995), 146.
The collector identifies this coin as a triobol based on its low weight, which is not only an unknown denomination for a coin in the name of Alexander but also an entirely unlikely denomination within the Alexandrine monetary system. It seems more likely that it is a contemporary imitation of a hemidrachm, but of rather low weight. Reinforcing this interpretation is the style of the Herakles portrait, which is rather coarse, and also the legends, which are blundered. Finally, the M in left field is clearly not a conventional Phoenician date. It is, however, a control used extensively on coins from Babylon, and of course Alexanders from Babylon - being on the periphery of the Hellenistic world - were extensively imitated in areas around the Persian Gulf. Thus, we catalogue the coin here as a contemporary imitation of a Babylon mint hemidrachm in the name of Alexander III.
From the Kenneth Miller Collection of Ake-Ptolemaïs and Related Biblical Coins. Ex Dr. Jonathan A. Herbst Collection (Superior, 8-9 December 1995), 146.
The collector identifies this coin as a triobol based on its low weight, which is not only an unknown denomination for a coin in the name of Alexander but also an entirely unlikely denomination within the Alexandrine monetary system. It seems more likely that it is a contemporary imitation of a hemidrachm, but of rather low weight. Reinforcing this interpretation is the style of the Herakles portrait, which is rather coarse, and also the legends, which are blundered. Finally, the M in left field is clearly not a conventional Phoenician date. It is, however, a control used extensively on coins from Babylon, and of course Alexanders from Babylon - being on the periphery of the Hellenistic world - were extensively imitated in areas around the Persian Gulf. Thus, we catalogue the coin here as a contemporary imitation of a Babylon mint hemidrachm in the name of Alexander III.