OTD: 323 BC, Alexander the Great dies and humanity piddles around for another 2345 years

[Ryro]

2345 Years ago, the greatest man to ever live, dies.

His famous last words were... debatable. 

I believe he left it to Krateros and that may have been his lady words. But this may have caused confusing as his name sounded a lot like "strongest" in Makedonien. 

Or maybe he really said, "I leave it all to Ryro." This request makes the most sense. But what the hell do I know?? I was only the last of the Diadochi. 

Here are some favorite portraits, lifetime coins and related issues:

and my latest related coin is from him or, likely, his older brother Philip III Arhidaios. And had a fun the quarters facing Herakles and rare reverse type:

 

Anyways, let's see some of your favorite coins of Alexander the Great!

[kirispupis]

Ah! One of my favorite subjects and a great time to take a break (I'm cursing MS Word right now...)

Here are some of the (likely) lifetime issues I have that were minted in his name:

Alexander the Great
AR Drachm 16mm, 4.27 g, 12h
Miletos mint. Struck under Philoxenos, circa 325-323 BCE
Price 2090; ADM I Series I. graffito in field on reverse

 

Alexander the Great
AR Drachm 16mm, 4.21 g, 12h
Abydos mint. Struck under Kalas or Demarchos, circa 325-323 BCE
Price 1503; ADM II Series I

 

Alexander the Great
Tetradrachm AR 24 mm, 16.80 g, 7 h
Susa, struck under Koinos, circa 324-323 BCE.
Price 3829

 

Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III 'the Great'
AR Tetradrachm 16.68g, 27mm, 2h
Struck under Stamenes or Archon
Babylon, circa 324/3 BCE
Price 3599; Müller 670. 

 

Alexander III 'the Great' AR Diobol
'Amphipolis', circa 336-323 BCE
Young head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress / ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, two eagles standing facing one another on thunderbolt.
Price 155; HGC 3.1, 906. 1.32g, 11mm, 3h.

 

And of course a few posthumous issues from others with his portrait.

Lysimachos
287/281 BCE
Perinthos 17.08g
Kopf des vergöttlichten Alexander / Athena mit Nike-Statuette auf Cippus und Schild, Beiz. Monogramm und 2 gegenläufige Pferdeprotomen.
Thompson in Festschr. Robinson (1968), -, vgl. 256 HGC 1750q; Thompson, Armenak-Hoard (=ANS MN 31, 198 - Müller, Lysimachus - Arnold-Biucchi in Festschr. Price (1998) Unpublished variant(?)

 

Ptolemy I 311-305 BCE
27.5 mm 14.6g 1h
Sv.162 (37 ex) - Cop.29 - GC.7750 var. - BMC.- - MP.6
Avers : Buste cornu et diadémé d'Alexandre le Grand sous les traits de Zeus-Ammon à droite, coiffé de la dépouille d'éléphant avec l'égide.
Revers : Athéna Promachos ou Alkidemos marchant à droite, brandissant une javeline de la main droite et tenant un bouclier de la gauche ; dans le champ à gauche, un casque corinthien, un monogramme et un aigle sur un foudre tourné à droite.

[Roman Collector]

Thought-provoking write-up, @Ryro! Even though I collect Roman coins, Alexander's stature was such that I had to obtain at least one. Here's my most photogenic.

Alexander III, 336-323 BC.
Greek Æ 18.3 mm, 5.92 g, 8 h.
Macedonia, Philippi, c. 336-323 BC.
Obv. Head of Heracles right, wearing lion's skin headdress.
Rev. AΛEΞANΔPOY; above, bow and quiver, and below, club / Π.
Refs: Price 311, Bellinger 123.

[Ursus]

Some favorite Alexanders:

Alexander III "the Great," Kingdom of Macedonia, AR tetradrachm, 325–323 BC, Amphipolis mint (under Antipater). Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin. Rev: ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; in left field, rooster standing left. 26mm, 17.17g. Ref: Price 79; Troxell 1997, issue E3. Ex CNG, e-auction 376, lot 47; ex Tiberius collection; ex AMCC 1, lot 39.

 

Alexander III “the Great,” Kingdom of Macedonia, AE unit, 336–323 BC, unknown Macedonian mint. Obv: head of Heracles right, wearing lion skin headdress. Rev: AΛEXANΔΡOY, between club and quiver with bow; below, dolphin (mostly off flan). 16.5mm, 5.50g. Ref: Price 323.

 

Alexander III “the Great,” Kingdom of Macedonia, AR drachm, 334–323 BC, Sardes mint. Obv: Head of Heracles right, wearing lion skin headdress. Rev: AΛEXANΔΡOY, Zeus seated left, holding eagle and sceptre, monogram left, club right. 16.5mm, 4.02g. Ref: Price 2550.

[AETHER]

@Ursus I absolutely love that drachma! Let me know if you ever wish to part with it!  

[Di Nomos]

I only have one coin related to Alexander. A tetradrachm minted in Alexandria under Ptolemy1, c. 315 BC, with a portrait of the deified Alexander wearing an elephant skin headress.

What makes this coin somewhat rarer, is that it is minted on the Attic weight standard (17g), whereas most with the Nike reverse were minted on a lower weight standard (around 15g). The first issues with the Zeus reverse were minted on the Attic weight. So I guess this was minted right at the beginning of the new reverse design, but before the weight was decreased.

Anyway, great write up Ryro. Interesting and entertaining as usual!

[Curtisimo]

Nice coins all! My only lifetime coin issued under Alexander is a humble AE half unit.

KINGS OF MACEDON: Alexander III 'the Great' (336-323 BCE), lifetime issue.
AE15 “half unit.” Macedonian mint. 
Dia.: 15 mm
Wt.: 4.13 g
Obv: Diademed head right.
Rev: AΛEΞANΔPOY, Horse prancing right; below, torch.
Ref.: Price 338.
Ex AMCC 2, lot 23 (Nov. 9, 2019)