Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Auction 108 16 May 2018
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UNCERTAIN EAST. 3rd-2nd centuries BC. AR Tetradrachm (26mm, 16.37 g, 11h). In the name and types of Alexander III of Macedon. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; in left field, lion-skin draped over club. Price 4058. Near EF, toned. Rare.
From the Colin E. Pitchfork Collection. Ex Lanz 138 (26 November 2002), lot 286.
The present coin is part of a series of Alexandrine tetradrachms featuring an unusual obverse style and light weight (averaging between 15.5 and 16.5 grams), as well as a variety of symbols in the left field on the reverse: lion-skin over club [Price 4058], dolphin downward [Price 4058A (cf. Lanz 161, lot 15)], wreath [Price B36], two dolphins entwined over wreath [present coin], and thunderbolt [CNG 90, lot 752, and Rauch Summer Auction 2010, lot 54]. While the light weight and style suggest an origin among the eastern Celts, the consistency of the style and proper epigraphy suggest a more formally organized mint, unlike definitively Celtic issues that attempt just to copy existing Alexanders (or are clearly blundered).
From the Colin E. Pitchfork Collection. Ex Lanz 138 (26 November 2002), lot 286.
The present coin is part of a series of Alexandrine tetradrachms featuring an unusual obverse style and light weight (averaging between 15.5 and 16.5 grams), as well as a variety of symbols in the left field on the reverse: lion-skin over club [Price 4058], dolphin downward [Price 4058A (cf. Lanz 161, lot 15)], wreath [Price B36], two dolphins entwined over wreath [present coin], and thunderbolt [CNG 90, lot 752, and Rauch Summer Auction 2010, lot 54]. While the light weight and style suggest an origin among the eastern Celts, the consistency of the style and proper epigraphy suggest a more formally organized mint, unlike definitively Celtic issues that attempt just to copy existing Alexanders (or are clearly blundered).