The New York Sale
Auction 42 9 Jan 2018
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Islands off Caria, Kos. Silver Tetradrachm (14.96 g), ca. 285-258 BC. Xanthippos, magistrate. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress. rev. K-ΩIO-N, crab; below, magistrate's name: ΞANΘIΠΠOΣ and bow-in-bowcase; all within dotted square. Requier 63 (D11/R53); BMFA Suppl. 195 (same dies). Untoned with traces of luster still present. A very impressive coin! Superb Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $5,000
From the Dionysus Collection.
While the previous lot depicts Herakles as an older man with a beard, reflecting an older Archaic and Classical tradition, on this coin he appears as a vibrant youth ready to take on all the enemies and monsters that Hera can throw at him. This youthful type, which has its roots in Macedonia in the fourth century BC, appears on this third century Koan tetradrachm thanks to Alexander the Great, who employed this type for his imperial tetradrachms and made it a widely popular image throughout the Mediterranean world. So closely was Alexander associated with the image of the youthful Herakles on his coins that it was not long before people began to identify the image of Herakles as a portrait of the Macedonian conqueror. Here the Koans have simply remodeled their traditional Herakles obverse to take advantage of the fame of Alexander and his internationally recognized currency that still shone brightly in the third century BC.
From the Dionysus Collection.
While the previous lot depicts Herakles as an older man with a beard, reflecting an older Archaic and Classical tradition, on this coin he appears as a vibrant youth ready to take on all the enemies and monsters that Hera can throw at him. This youthful type, which has its roots in Macedonia in the fourth century BC, appears on this third century Koan tetradrachm thanks to Alexander the Great, who employed this type for his imperial tetradrachms and made it a widely popular image throughout the Mediterranean world. So closely was Alexander associated with the image of the youthful Herakles on his coins that it was not long before people began to identify the image of Herakles as a portrait of the Macedonian conqueror. Here the Koans have simply remodeled their traditional Herakles obverse to take advantage of the fame of Alexander and his internationally recognized currency that still shone brightly in the third century BC.