Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 132 30-31 May 2022
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Kings of Macedonia, Alexander I, 498 – 454
Octodrachm circa 465-460, AR 29.01 g. Warrior, wearing causia and holding two spears, standing behind horse. Rev. AΛE – ΞA – NΔ – PO around a shallow incuse square frame which surrounds a quadripartite incuse square. Svoronos, Hellénisme Primitif, pl. XIII, 9. Raymond, ANSMN 126, 46. Boston MFA 627. McFadden, The ancient coin market, Minerva vol. 6, 1, p. 49 (this coin illustrated).
Very rare and possibly the finest specimen known of this important issue. A spectacular
issue of extraordinary style perfectly struck and centred on a very large flan.
Light iridescent tone and good extremely fine
Ex Tkalec sale 28th February 1994, 74.
When Alexander I succeeded his father as king of Macedonia in 498 BC, the kingdom was already closely connected to the Persian Empire and paid tribute to Darius I. Indeed, Alexander used his family's friendly relationship with the Persians to expand his kingdom and gain access to the silver mines of Mount Dysoron. After the death of Darius, the Macedonian king recognized the authority of Xerxes I and supported him in his attempts to punish the Greeks for their involvement in the Ionian Revolt. He even went so far as to campaign alongside the Persian Great King and the general Mardonius during their invasion of mainland Greece in 480-479 BC. Despite his Persian connections, Alexander I was much more of an opportunist than a loyal ally. After the Battle of Salamis, the king began to realize the likelihood of a Greek victory and therefore abandoned his previous medizing ways and began to represent himself as a philhellene. Before the decisive Battle of Plataea (479 BC), he made secret contact with the Greek leaders, claiming that he had always hated the Persians and had murdered envoys sent to his father in c. 512 BC. Furthermore, he said that he had only served Xerxes out of compulsion and that he had tried to warn the Greeks of the Persian invasion in 480 at great personal risk. In the aftermath of the Persian War, Alexander I continued to develop his Hellenic image by establishing a specious association between the dynasty to which he belonged, the Argead house, and the Greek city of Argos through Temenos, a son of Heracles. He also made sure to maintain a friendly relationship with Athens and added a Hellenic character to his court by patronizing the great Greek artists and poets of the age. Although the Macedonians at large were still widely regarded by the Greeks as a barbarian people, Alexander's reinvention of himself was so successful that he was considered Greek enough to participate in the Olympic games of 476 BC. At the same time that Alexander I was emphasising his Hellenic connections, the present octadrachm, which was probably struck from silver mined in Mount Dysoron, reveals the strong influence of his non-Greek Thracian neighbours. The large denomination is inherited directly from the Thraco-Macedonian tribes. Likewise the types of a horseman leading his horse and a quadripartite square surrounded by a Greek legend are almost identical to types used by the Bisaltae.
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Octodrachm circa 465-460, AR 29.01 g. Warrior, wearing causia and holding two spears, standing behind horse. Rev. AΛE – ΞA – NΔ – PO around a shallow incuse square frame which surrounds a quadripartite incuse square. Svoronos, Hellénisme Primitif, pl. XIII, 9. Raymond, ANSMN 126, 46. Boston MFA 627. McFadden, The ancient coin market, Minerva vol. 6, 1, p. 49 (this coin illustrated).
Very rare and possibly the finest specimen known of this important issue. A spectacular
issue of extraordinary style perfectly struck and centred on a very large flan.
Light iridescent tone and good extremely fine
Ex Tkalec sale 28th February 1994, 74.
When Alexander I succeeded his father as king of Macedonia in 498 BC, the kingdom was already closely connected to the Persian Empire and paid tribute to Darius I. Indeed, Alexander used his family's friendly relationship with the Persians to expand his kingdom and gain access to the silver mines of Mount Dysoron. After the death of Darius, the Macedonian king recognized the authority of Xerxes I and supported him in his attempts to punish the Greeks for their involvement in the Ionian Revolt. He even went so far as to campaign alongside the Persian Great King and the general Mardonius during their invasion of mainland Greece in 480-479 BC. Despite his Persian connections, Alexander I was much more of an opportunist than a loyal ally. After the Battle of Salamis, the king began to realize the likelihood of a Greek victory and therefore abandoned his previous medizing ways and began to represent himself as a philhellene. Before the decisive Battle of Plataea (479 BC), he made secret contact with the Greek leaders, claiming that he had always hated the Persians and had murdered envoys sent to his father in c. 512 BC. Furthermore, he said that he had only served Xerxes out of compulsion and that he had tried to warn the Greeks of the Persian invasion in 480 at great personal risk. In the aftermath of the Persian War, Alexander I continued to develop his Hellenic image by establishing a specious association between the dynasty to which he belonged, the Argead house, and the Greek city of Argos through Temenos, a son of Heracles. He also made sure to maintain a friendly relationship with Athens and added a Hellenic character to his court by patronizing the great Greek artists and poets of the age. Although the Macedonians at large were still widely regarded by the Greeks as a barbarian people, Alexander's reinvention of himself was so successful that he was considered Greek enough to participate in the Olympic games of 476 BC. At the same time that Alexander I was emphasising his Hellenic connections, the present octadrachm, which was probably struck from silver mined in Mount Dysoron, reveals the strong influence of his non-Greek Thracian neighbours. The large denomination is inherited directly from the Thraco-Macedonian tribes. Likewise the types of a horseman leading his horse and a quadripartite square surrounded by a Greek legend are almost identical to types used by the Bisaltae.
View a video of this lot