Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 138 18-19 May 2023
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Alexander III, 336-323 BC and posthumous issue.
Stater under Peithon, Babylon, circa 315-311, AV 8.58 g. Head of Athena r., wearing triple-crested Corinthian helmet, earring and pearl-necklace. Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ – ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ Nike standing l., holding wreath and stylis; in lower l. field,.monogram within wreath. Price –. Waggoner, Babylon 258a-b var. (different helmet). SNG Copenhagen 637 var. (different helmet). cf. CNG mail bid sale 84, 2010, 294.
An extremely rare variety. Of lovely style and with a superb reddish tone. An almost
invisible mark on obverse field, otherwise virtually as struck and almost Fdc
Ex Roma Numismatics sale 4, 2012, 224. From the Collection of an Aesthete.
Graded Ch AU* Strike 5/5 Surface 4/5, Fine style, light mark, NCG certification number 6558856-004
This stater features the imperial types established for gold coinage by Alexander the Great, probably before 334 BC. Both allude to the Macedonian king's original characterisation of his conquest of the Persian Empire as a war of revenge for Xerxes I's failed invasion of mainland Greece in 480-479 BC. The head of Athena on the obverse represents not only the Greek goddess of war, but Athens, a city targeted by the Persians for destruction during the invasion. The reverse depicts Nike, the goddess of victory, holding a ship's stylis as a symbol of naval victory, perhaps recalling to mind the Greek victory over the Persian fleet at the battle of Salamis in 480 BC. The propaganda of revenge had largely run its course by the time Alexander defeated Darius III at the battle of Gaugamela (331 BC) and he began to develop plans for the integration of the Persians into his new Macedonian empire. From a propaganda perspective, it might have made sense to change the types, but by this time the Athena and Nike types had become so firmly established and widely accepted that many groups of mercenaries required payment in these types-nothing else would do. Thus, when Alexander died in 323 BC and his united empire began to disintegrate as his former generals sought to carve out their own kingdoms, gold staters with his types and in his name continued to be struck as if the Macedonian empire were still a monolithic entity. This particular stater was struck under Peithon, a Macedonian officer who was appointed to serve as satrap of Babylon by Antigonus Monophthalmos, the powerful strategos of Asia. It is an extremely rare variant in which the coiled serpent that usually adorns Athena's helmet has been omitted by the engraver. Antigonos hoped to ultimately reconstruct Alexander's empire under his own rule by killing his enemies and expelling satraps who seemed unlikely to obey his commands. Peithon was installed in Babylon in 315 BC as a more pliable replacement for Seleucus, who had been originally appointed as the satrap in 321 BC. Gold staters struck by Peithon almost certainly went to assist in financing the Third Diadochic War (314-312 BC) fought between Antigonus and a coalition of Cassander, Lysimachus, and Ptolemy, the respective satraps of Macedonia, Thrace, and Egypt who wished to keep their own realms intact. Peithon himself participated in the Battle of Gaza (312 BC) and was killed in the fighting. His death and the turmoil caused by the defeat of the Antigonid forces at Gaza allowed the exiled Seleucus to return to Babylon and reclaim his old satrapy.
Stater under Peithon, Babylon, circa 315-311, AV 8.58 g. Head of Athena r., wearing triple-crested Corinthian helmet, earring and pearl-necklace. Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ – ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ Nike standing l., holding wreath and stylis; in lower l. field,.monogram within wreath. Price –. Waggoner, Babylon 258a-b var. (different helmet). SNG Copenhagen 637 var. (different helmet). cf. CNG mail bid sale 84, 2010, 294.
An extremely rare variety. Of lovely style and with a superb reddish tone. An almost
invisible mark on obverse field, otherwise virtually as struck and almost Fdc
Ex Roma Numismatics sale 4, 2012, 224. From the Collection of an Aesthete.
Graded Ch AU* Strike 5/5 Surface 4/5, Fine style, light mark, NCG certification number 6558856-004
This stater features the imperial types established for gold coinage by Alexander the Great, probably before 334 BC. Both allude to the Macedonian king's original characterisation of his conquest of the Persian Empire as a war of revenge for Xerxes I's failed invasion of mainland Greece in 480-479 BC. The head of Athena on the obverse represents not only the Greek goddess of war, but Athens, a city targeted by the Persians for destruction during the invasion. The reverse depicts Nike, the goddess of victory, holding a ship's stylis as a symbol of naval victory, perhaps recalling to mind the Greek victory over the Persian fleet at the battle of Salamis in 480 BC. The propaganda of revenge had largely run its course by the time Alexander defeated Darius III at the battle of Gaugamela (331 BC) and he began to develop plans for the integration of the Persians into his new Macedonian empire. From a propaganda perspective, it might have made sense to change the types, but by this time the Athena and Nike types had become so firmly established and widely accepted that many groups of mercenaries required payment in these types-nothing else would do. Thus, when Alexander died in 323 BC and his united empire began to disintegrate as his former generals sought to carve out their own kingdoms, gold staters with his types and in his name continued to be struck as if the Macedonian empire were still a monolithic entity. This particular stater was struck under Peithon, a Macedonian officer who was appointed to serve as satrap of Babylon by Antigonus Monophthalmos, the powerful strategos of Asia. It is an extremely rare variant in which the coiled serpent that usually adorns Athena's helmet has been omitted by the engraver. Antigonos hoped to ultimately reconstruct Alexander's empire under his own rule by killing his enemies and expelling satraps who seemed unlikely to obey his commands. Peithon was installed in Babylon in 315 BC as a more pliable replacement for Seleucus, who had been originally appointed as the satrap in 321 BC. Gold staters struck by Peithon almost certainly went to assist in financing the Third Diadochic War (314-312 BC) fought between Antigonus and a coalition of Cassander, Lysimachus, and Ptolemy, the respective satraps of Macedonia, Thrace, and Egypt who wished to keep their own realms intact. Peithon himself participated in the Battle of Gaza (312 BC) and was killed in the fighting. His death and the turmoil caused by the defeat of the Antigonid forces at Gaza allowed the exiled Seleucus to return to Babylon and reclaim his old satrapy.