Ryro

Cool coin, but the answer is, isn't. 

Here's a coin from Alexander's grandfather... of Alexander... as Herakles... before he was born?

Amyntas III (393-369 BCE). Aigai or Pella. 3.40g, 16mm.

Obv: Head of Herakles right wearing lion skin.

Rev: Eagle standing right, devouring serpent held in its talons.

SNG ANS 100-109.

The Argead line claimed descent from Herakles and made loads of coins showing this. 

From everything I've read, the claim that Alexander's coins with Herakles being him as the brute are more than likely a ploy to sell coins. 

M. Caecilius Q.f. Q.n. Metellus, Rome, 127 BC. Æ Semis (22mm, 7.18g, 12h). Laureate head of Saturn r. R/ Prow of galley r.; above, Macedonian shield. Crawford 263/3b; RBW 1067. Good Fine

Ex London ancient coins

Next: RR bronze

Great new coin of ATG! Here are a few of mine featuring the great one...

Stunning piece! No gold here, but here's an EL nymph that I used to date:

Coingrats lord M! Strong portrait and cool coin. 

Galba
(68-69), Denarius, Rome, July AD 68 - January AD 69, AR (18 MM 2,67 gr h 5), IMP SER GALBA CAESAR AVG P M, laureate head r., Rv. DIVA - AVGVSTA, Livia standing l., holding sceptre and patera. RIC 224 C 58.Very rare. Fine
Ex-Savoca

Doesn't he look a little bit like Walter?

I do enjoy funking colorful toning as well as old Cabinet. Good thread idea. 

He's a few of my favorites:

Julian II. Apostate. (361-363 AD). Æ Follis. (17mm, 2,96g) Antioch. Obv: D N FL CL IVLIANVS P F AVG. diademed, helmeted and armed bust left. Rev: VOT / X / MVLT / XX. legend in wreath

Next: cool shield design

Very cool coin and thanks for sharing your research!

Here is a coin of mine that's either Seleukos or Alexander as the conqueror of India, Dionysos, wearing a horned panther skin helmet rather than a turban:

Seleukos I Nikator,
312-281 BC. Drachm (Silver, 16.5 mm, 4.25 g, 12 h), probably Seleukeia on the Tigris, after circa 305/4 BC . Bust of Alexander the Great (Seleucus?) to right, as Dionysos, wearing helmet covered with a panther skin and adorned with a bull's horn and ear, and with a panther's skin tied around his shoulders. Rev. ΒΑΣIΛΕΩΣ [ΣΕ]ΛΕΥΚΟΥ Nike standing to right, placing wreath on trophy; between Nike and trophy, monogram. HGC 9, 35. SC 197. Toned. Very fine. Ex: Nomos Obols

Triskeles have always struck me as downright bizarre nightmare fodder:

Pampylia - Aspendos - Triskele AR Stater, 20 MM, 10.89 gr,

465-430 BC

Obv: naked warrior walking right holding sword and shield. Rev: triskele in incuse square. 10.57 grams. Fair; banker cut to reverse. [No Reserve]

Provenance

Literature Cf. SNG France 3/12; Aulock 4483. purchased from All About Coins SLC, Jan 2023

 Next: other strange things on ancient coins

Moesia, Istrus, 450-300 BC. 1/4 Drachm AR 11mm, 1.3 grams. Two male heads facing, the left inverted / Lettering above sea eagle left on dolphin, letter A beneath dolphin

Next: weird iconography 

Moneyer issues of Imperatorial Rome. L. Hostilius Saserna. 48 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.6 g, 7h). Rome mint. Diademed female head (Pietas or Clementia?) right, wearing oak wreath / Victory advancing right, holding winged caduceus and trophy. Crawford 448/1a; CRI 17; Sydenham 951; Hostilia 5; BMCRR Rome 3989-92; RBW 1567.

"Nothing certain is known about Lucius Hostilius Saserna, one of the tresviri monetales for 48 BC, except that he was evidently a supporter of Julius Caesar. His coin types all celebrate Caesar's conquests in Gaul and the civil war with Pompey, as well as his clemency to former enemies. The female head on this type closely resembles two issues of Caesar himself and is thought to represent Clementia (Clemency). Two relations named Gaius and Publius Hostilius Saserna, possibly brothers or sons, served under Caesar in Africa in 46 BC, but history is silent about the later careers of all the Hostilia Sasernae."

Next: a coin that completed a sub collection

Good Zeus above, I'd PM you in a second flat, as you have a ton of coins that my collection longs for... if it weren't APRIL FOOLS!!!

But seriously, I LOVE THAT TET!

1 hour ago, Cordoba said:

This is a coin of Lysias, not Menander. The legend reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΙΚΗΤΟΥ ΛΥΣΙΟΥ on the obverse

Oops! Good call and thanks for saying something. I was hurrying to get the IDs added. That's what I get for posting when I should be working. Post is updated with correct identification. 

Nice new Baktrian and good work identifying it!

It's a slippery slope, as they are fun and have cool iconography. Here are some of mine starting with the same type as your new coin:

Apollodotus I

Indo-Greeks, (160-150 BC), Copper Square Hemi-Obol, Obv: apollo standing, holding bow and arrow, greek around legend 'BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΠOΛΛOΔOTOY ΣΩTHPOΣ', Rev: tripod within dotted border, khroshthi legend 'maharajasa apaladatasa tratarasa', 10.05g, 22.33x22.63mm, (Mitch. Vol.2 # type 209), about very fine+.

Eukratides (171-145 BC), Bronze Unit, BN series 19, 8.99g. Obv: Helmeted bust of king, Greek legend BASILEOS MEGALOU EUKRATIDOU. Rev: Dioskuroides on horseback; Kharoshthi legend above and below Maharajasa Ewukratidasa.

Ex: Timeline Auc

Lysias

BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. Circa 130-125 BC. Æ (20x20mm, 8.82 g, 12h). Indian standard. Head of Herakles right, lion’s skin tied around neck, club over shoulder / Elephant advancing right; monograms in exergue. Bopearachchi 8A; SNG ANS 1040-7. VF, dark green patina

Menander I

BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. circa 165/55-130 BC. Drachm (Silver, 16 mm, 2.49 g, 12 h), Indian standard, uncertain mint in Paropamisadai or Gandhara. BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ - MENANΔPOY Draped bust of Menander I to right, wearing crested helmet adorned with pelt and wing. Rev. 'Maharajasa tratarasa Menamdrasa' (in Kharoshti) Athena advancing left, holding shield on left arm and brandishing thunderbolt with her right; to right, monogram. Bopearachchi 16l. HGC 12, 193. Light doubling on the obverse and with a minor flan crack, otherwise, very fine.

Purchased from Leu Feb 2022

WoWiE! That's a showstopper there!

I recently read, and enjoyed, The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy. I highly recommend it to any fans of the late Hellenistic or Roman Republic periods. 

No silver here, but I'll share some bronzes:

PONTOS, Amisos, c. 125-100 BCE (under Mithradates VI) AE 17. 3.83g, 17mm.
Obv: Bare-headed bust of Perseus right
Rev: AMI-ΣOY, cornucopia between caps of the Dioscuri, stars above each.
SNG BM Black Sea 1129-33; BMC 65.
From the Erworben collection.

Mithradates VI Eupator

Pontus, Amisos. 120-63 BC. AE19 (8.11 gm) 85-65 BC. Head of Gorgon on aegis / Nike standing with palm. SNG.BM.1177v. VF

Mithradates VI Eupator

PONTOS, Amisos. Circa 85-65 BC. Æ 20mm (7.98 g, 12h). Helmeted head of Ares(?) right / Sword in sheath; monograms flanking. SNG BM Black Sea 1154-5; SNG Copenhagen 150. VF

Former Savoca

PONTOS, Amisos. Circa 85-65 BC. Æ (28mm, 19.42 g, 12h). Struck under Mithradates VI. Helmeted head of Athena right / Perseus standing facing, holding [harpa] and head of Medusa; body of Medusa at feet, monograms to left and right. Near VF.

This coin depicts two figures from the legend of Medusa, who was once a beautiful young maiden. Medusa’s hair was turned into hissing serpents and condemned to turn every living thing which gazed upon her to turn to stone. Perseus, son of Zeus and the mortal Danae, was given the task of slaying this monster. He was aided, in part, by Athena who gave her shield to him for the task. In the context of the period which this coin is from, Perseus and Medusa could be representations of Mithradates VI and Rome, respectively.

GENS CASSIA. Denarius. (Ar. 19mm, 3.6 g). 78 BC Rome. Anv: Head of Libero Bacchus on the right crowned with lyres, behind Tyrso. Rev: Liberea's diadem head on left, behind legend: L CASSI Q F. F.

Next: rough condition but still appealing to the eye

The industrial revolution didn't put everyone out of work. It just opened up different kinds of work.

It's not the technology we should fear, but the greed of the upper classes.

CELTIC IMITATIONS OF MAGNA GRAECIA

MELDES/Meldis (Meaux region) 60-40 BCE, bronze, 16.6mm, 2.8g.

No. in reference works: LT.7617 - DT.587 - BN.7616-7630 - RIG.163 - Sch/GB.512

Obverse legend: E[PENOS].

Obverse description: Male head on the left, long, curly hair, legend in front of the face; gritted.

Reverse legend: EPHNOS.

Reverse description: Horse galloping to the right, wavy tail, surmounted by a facing bird/ winged rider with outstretched wings, a ringlet pointed below; legend under the horse globule surmounted by a crescent.

Unearthed 2023 Burgundy region of France. 

next: more Celtics

Fun post! It's always cool when you come across something you set aside without much expectation and end up with a surprise. Here's a Spanish coin with a great story of my own:

Spanish States, Castile and León (Kingdom). Ferdinand V and Isabel I (Los Reyes Católicos - the Catholic Monarchs) CU Blanca. Sevilla (Seville) mint, 1474-1504. ✠ FЄRꞂAꞂDVS ◦ ЄT ◦ ҺЄLISABЄT, crowned monogram; S-S across fields / ✠ RЄX : ЄT: RЄGINA : CAST : LЄGI, crowned monogram; two stars across fields. Calicó 653; AC 46. 1.72g, 20mm, 12h. Saturnalia gift from @bcuda

This is the same Ferdinand and Isabel that enabled Christopher Columbus to find the new(ish) world and backed the infamous Spanish Inquisition!!!

Next: more Athena

Very interesting and illuminating! Thanks for sharing @Deinomenid

One of my favorite ancients is a good example of this practice:

Sicily, under the tyrant Gelon Silver tetradrachm (16.91 gr, 25 mm)

Obv: Slow quadriga being driven r. by male charioteer, Nike above crowning horses

Rev: Head of Artemis-Arethusa right, 4 dolphins around legend, ΣVRAKOΣI-ON

Popular type. Boeh-353, SNG-113 Toned VF, obverse somewhat grainy. Purchased from Bill Rosenblum March 2022

Caracalla and Geta Æ27 of Marcianopolis, Moesia Inferior. AD 209-211. AY K M AY ANTΩNINOC AY K Π C ΓETAC, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Caracalla, facing laureate and draped bust of Geta left / Y +Λ OYΛΠIANOY MAPKIANOΠOΛITΩN, Tyche standing left, holding rudder and cornucopiae; lighted altar and Є (mark of value) to left, eagle above dolphin to right. H&J, Marcianopolis, 6.20.38.1-2; Varbanov 1085 (same obv. die as illustration). 11 gr, 27mm, 1h. 

Next: Tyche

Excellent area to specialize in @Spargrodan!

Let's not forget big bro Philip Arrhidaios nor cousin, once removed, Pyrrhos of Epiros, (though, we don't get portraits of either men). 

Out of all the lines Ptolemaic, Seleukid, it's the Antigonid that has my favorite Hellenistic coins. 

I can't wait to see what coins you go with and am happy to have another Alexander fan on the board!

That's an incredible piece! How many bricks do you have now with animal imprints?