| Classical Numismatic Group > Triton XXVII | Auction date: 9 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 172 Price realized: 75,000 USD (Approx. 68,693 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: THESSALY, Pherai. Alexander. Tyrant, 369-359 BC. AR Stater (22.5mm, 11.55 g, 5h). Head of Ennodia facing slightly right, wearing pearl diadem, earring in the form of a grape bunch, and linear necklace; torch to left / A-Λ-E-ΞA-N-ΔPOY, Alexander, wearing Thessalian military attire and sheathed sword, brandishing spear he holds aloft in his right hand, on horse, with labrys on it hind quarter, rearing right; labrys below. BCD Thessaly I 1309 (this coin); HGC 4, 576 (this coin illustrated); Traité IV 612 = Jameson 1106 (same dies). Deeply toned, slight roughness and a few tiny delaminations. Near EF. A wonderful example of this very rare issue, struck in high relief from dies of fine style. From the Father & Son Collection. Ex Sheikh Saud Al-Thani Collection (Numismatica Ars Classica 116, 1 October 2019), lot 119; BCD Collection (Nomos 4, 10 May 2011), lot 1309. One of the ironies of ancient Greek numismatics is how a cruel, treacherous tyrant like Alexander of Pherai could produce a coin of such surpassing beauty. The son of a previous Thessalian tyrant, Alexander murdered his way into his late father's position of power in 369 BC and immediately embarked on a rule so bloody that much of Thessaly rebelled and invited the armies of Macedon and Thebes to invade and depose him. Nearly a decade of warfare and atrocities followed, until a conspiracy led by his own wife ended his life and tyranny in 359 BC. Alexander's extremely rare silver staters depict Ennodia, a uniquely Thessalian goddess who shared attributes with Artemis, Hecate and Persephone. The reverse depicts Alexander as a mounted officer in full kit, paying tribute to the loyal Thessalian cavalry that helped maintain him in power against superior forces. Estimate: 75000 USD |  |
