Question about Macedonian coins.

[lim]

Hello, I purchased this coin. And I noticed a mark on the cheek of the portrait. And I noticed that similar things often occur in Macedonian coins. It looks like a mark. And I wanted to hear your opinion, what could it be? And I also want to show a photo that I found at auctions with similar marks.

[lim]

If this is a countermark, it could mean something interesting.

[ominus1]

..lQQKs to me to be a bankers mark but i 'm not familiar witn them on Greek coins...maybe @Ryro or @Alegandron  will ring in and educate us on this...:)

[lim]

It is strange that countermarks are found on different coins from different mints.

[JAZ Numismatics]

Here's a site I recently discovered with some useful info...

https://coins2.calkinsc.com/cs/index.html

[kirispupis]

It looks like a countermark to me. They were often used on Alexander tetradrachms to establish ownership and ensure one's coins didn't intermingle with others'.

Countermarks were also used to certify that a coin was valid in a particular city or place, but given how universal Alexander's coinage was, my suspicion is this was a sign of ownership.

Graffiti are more common, since a mark required some tools. Here's one I have with a graffito. Now that I look at it, there is also a mark on the obverse.

Philip III Arrhidaios AR Tetradrachm.
Struck under Archon, Dokimos, or Seleukos I.
Babylon, circa 323-317 BCE
Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated to left, holding sceptre; BAΣIΛEΩΣ below, AΛEΞANΔPOY to right, M in left field, ΛY below throne. Price 3692; Müller 1272; Hersh 244. 17.18g, 25mm, 12h.
graffito to rev.

[lim]

On Athenian owl tetradrachms, a piece was usually cut off from the side for inspection. And there are a lot of such coins. Customs countermarks were also placed on coins when crossing an international caravan. It's clear there. There were many imitations. And Macedonian had a mint in the former city. I don't even see the point in marking money.

[-monolith-]

As stated above it's a countermark also known as mintmark. They occur on most types of coins (Greek and Roman). They were used to track and authenticate coins, almost like a modern day stamp cancelation on mail. 

[lim]

Alexander the Great countermarked posthumous tetradrachm from Aspendos, Asia Minor, c. 195-194 BC, 16.1g, M.J. Price 2897, SNG Cop. 771.

Along with its 33mm wide oblong flan, this tetradrachm distinguishes itself with its obverse countermark, a Seleukid anchor, which dates from c. 172 BC. The impression of the countermark is seen on the reverse as well -- over the inscription and extending into the right field. Many Alexander tetradrachms from Asia Minor were countermarked in Syria during the second century BC with the official mark of the state, the Seleukid anchor, to grant them status as legal tender. The bottom two coins on this page also depict Seleukid anchors. Countermarking was employed since the very first coinage, as the second coin on this page illustrates, but they likely were used then as marks of ownership rather than as certifications of value. Countermarked coins are often well worn, which follows from the purpose of countermarking -- extending the circulation of the coin. According to hoard evidence, some Alexanders were still in circulation a century and a half after their issue, which would be the equivalent of a U.S. coin from the time of the Civil War still being in circulation today.

The terms "countermark" and "banker's mark" are often used interchangeably for symbols, letters, or numbers that are engraved into the coin's surface after it has been minted for an official purpose, as distinguished from graffiti, which are engraved markings created unofficially. The term "punchmark" is sometimes used for a smaller official engraved mark, as distinguished from a larger "countermark." Countermarks, large or small, are distinguished from test cuts, which are crude slashes into the metal to determine whether the coin was silver- or gold-plated. Sometimes these differences blur, when punchmarks appear to have been used also to reveal the metal in the coin's core or when test cuts appear to have been used also as a simple marking system.

[lim]

Here is an example of a late posthumous Macedonian coin with a countermark.

[lim]

Alexander the test-cut posthumous Great tetradrachm from Amphipolis, Macedonia, c. 315-294 BC, 16.7g, M.J. Price 447.

The above coin was cut with a chisel in ancient times to determine whether it was solid silver or only silver plated over a base metal interior. With silver coins, bronze, lead, and lead alloys were used to make counterfeits, which are called "fourrees" today (these are covered in detail in the Ancient Counterfeits page of this site). Sometimes money changers, merchants, or others made these in the obverse or reverse surface, sometimes on the edge, as with the above specimen. Typically the result was only metal displacement, with negligible amounts of metal lost, so the weight remained the same.

[lim]

It’s a pity that there is no information on all the other countermark coins of the Macedonian.