Northern Greece. Kings of Macedon, Alexander III the Great, 336 - 323 BC.
Stater, Miletus, c. 323 - 319. (Gold, 8.56g., 18.9mm). Head of Athena to right, wearing a pearl necklace and a Corinthian helmet adorned with a serpent / ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ Nike standing left, holding wreath in her right hand and stylis in her left; to left, monogram of ΑΣ; below right wing, double axe. Price 2122. ANS NS 16, New York 1983, 206 (this coin).

As befits his enormous stature on the stage of the history of the western world, Alexander’s coinage was the most extensive and well organized that the world had ever seen. When Alexander established his coinage, which according to many scholars was c. 333/2 (previously he used coins struck in the name of his father, Philip II), he decided that the types would be uniform. Thus, whether they were struck in Macedon, or Cilicia, or Egypt, the figures on the coins would be the same, with the only difference being the control marks (letters, monograms or symbols or a combination), which would allow officials to easily determine where a specific coin was minted and who was responsible for its manufacture. While we can assume that this system would have been clear to officials in the later part of the 4th century BC, it caused a great deal of speculation for numismatists in modern times. A great variety of mint attributions were proposed and dismissed, depending on the varying opinions of the scholars involved. Thanks to over a century of serious discussions, research into this field might be said to have culminated in the late Martin Price’s epic study on the coinage of Alexander: we now can be reasonably certain that the full mint structure of Alexander’s empire, and the mints used for coins of his type that were produced posthumously (silver coins in the name of Alexander continued to be struck for trade reasons down into the 1st century BC), has been given a firm foundation. This piece was struck after Alexander’s death, during the nominal reign of his half-brother Philip III, in the mint of Miletus, one of the greatest cities in Asia Minor.

Grading/Status: A superb and lustrous piece, well-struck and well-centered. Good extremely fine.

Notes
Provenance:
Acquired privately from Tradart in February 2011.