**First Time At Auction**

Greece, Ionia, ca. 295 to 275 BCE. A silver drachm featuring Kings of Macedon, Alexander III the Great (336 to 323 BCE) and Miletos mint. Obverse: head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress. Reverse: Zeus seated left on low throne, holding long scepter in his left hand and eagle standing right with closed wings in his right; to left, monogram of “MI”. Price 2151. Size: 0.73" Diameter (1.9 cm); total weight: 3 grams; quality of silver 92.55%

Alexander the Great needs no introduction, and his coinage had subsequent international fame. Although they began to be minted during his lifetime, coins of this style were also issued for two decades after his death by the generals who had divided up his empire, and similar coins were minted by cities for over two centuries to be issued as international coinage. During his lifetime, the production of these coins also speaks to the vast international reach that his empire (and his fame) had: twenty-five mints produced these tetradrachms, of which two were in his home kingdom of Macedonia, one was in his conquered territory of Egypt, and the other twenty-three were in various parts of Alexander-conquered or -influenced Asia.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private Swiss collection

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#163905

Very fine, with old cabinet tone.