| Savoca Numismatik GmbH & Co. KG > Online Auction 187 | Silver | Auction date: 10 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 10 Price realized: 70 EUR (Approx. 75 USD) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Kings of Macedon. Aigai. Alexander I 498-454 BC. Hemiobol AR 8 mm, 0,28 g Spear head / Quadripartite incuse square. Very Fine Klein 119; SNG ANS 1003; SNG Copenhagen 464. Ex Hirsch Auction 240, Lot 124. Alexander, son of Amyntas I, was said to have married his sister to Persian general Bubares to conceal his involvement in a Persian embassy murder, as per Herodotus. However, this story is likely fictional, possibly invented by Herodotus during his time in Macedonia. It's more plausible that the marriage was arranged by Amyntas around 510 BC or managed by Alexander after his father's death. During Alexander's reign, Macedonia was initially a vassal to the Achaemenid Empire, a status continuing from his father's time. In 492 BC, it became fully subordinate to the Persian Empire after Mardonius' campaign. Alexander, serving as a representative of Persian governor Mardonius, participated in peace negotiations after the Persian defeat at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC. Despite this role, he aided Greek city-states, providing supplies and advice, warning them of Persian plans before the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC. Herodotus referred to Alexander as a hyparchos (viceroy) after Mardonius' conquest of Macedon. Despite cooperating with Persia, Alexander played a key role in regaining Macedonian independence after the Persian Wars. He informed the Greeks about Persian movements, advising them to evacuate Tempe before Xerxes' troops arrived and revealing an alternate route to Thessaly through upper Macedonia. Claiming descent from Argive Greeks and Heracles, Alexander underwent scrutiny by Elean hellanodikai, confirming his lineage and granting him the right to participate in the Olympic Games, reserved for Greeks. He modeled his court after Athens, patronizing poets like Pindar and Bacchylides, earning the epithet "philhellene" for his love of Greek culture and identity. Starting price: 50 EUR |  |
Match 1:
| Savoca Numismatik GmbH & Co. KG > Online Auction 209 | Silver | Auction date: 28 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 148 Price realized: 50 EUR (Approx. 54 USD) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Cilicia. Uncertain (Nagidos?) circa 400-300 BC. Hemiobol AR 9 mm, 0,32 g Helmeted head of Athena right / Turreted head of Aphrodite left. Very Fine Göktürk -; SNG Levante -; SNG Paris -; cf. Leu Numismatik Web Auction 4, lot 338, Rare. Aphrodite, in ancient Greek mythology, is the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and fertility. She is one of the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses, and her myths and worship were widespread throughout the ancient Greek world. According to mythology, Aphrodite was born from the sea foam that formed around the severed genitals of the sky god Uranus, which were cast into the sea by his son Cronus. She emerged from the sea fully grown and radiant, and was carried ashore on a scallop shell. Aphrodite's beauty was so captivating that it caused rivalry and jealousy among the gods. Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, but she had numerous affairs with other gods and mortals, including Ares, the god of war, and Adonis, a handsome mortal youth. She was often depicted as accompanied by Eros (Cupid), the god of love, and was associated with doves, roses, and myrtle. As the goddess of love and desire, Aphrodite played a central role in Greek mythology and religious practices. She was worshipped in various forms and cults throughout the Greek world, with festivals and rituals dedicated to her worship.Aphrodite's influence extended beyond romantic love to encompass the concepts of beauty, pleasure, and fertility. She was believed to bring harmony and joy to the lives of mortals, as well as to ensure the success of romantic relationships and marriages. Starting price: 50 EUR |  |
Match 2:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Auction 15 | Auction date: 1 June 2024 |
| Lot number: 60 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | |
| Lot description: KINGS OF MACEDON. Demetrios I Poliorketes, 306-283 BC. Stater (Gold, 18 mm, 8.64 g, 5 h), in the types of Alexander III. Amphipolis, circa 294-293. Head of Athena to right, wearing Corinthian helmet decorated with a double coiled serpent. Rev. ΔHMHTPIOY - BAΣIΛΕΩΣ Nike standing front, head to left, with her wings spread, holding laurel wreath in her right hand and stylis in her left; to lower left, Z; to lower right, monogram. HGC 3, 1006d. Newell -, cf. 93 (unlisted combination of dies S/cc). Extremely rare and among the finest known examples. Beautifully struck and with a fine head of Athena. A few very light scratches and edge marks, otherwise, extremely fine. Ex Elsen 51, 13 September 1997, 168. Demetrios I Poliorketes stands as perhaps the most tragic figure among the Diadochi. As the son of Antigonos I Monophthalmos, he bore witness to his father's ascension to become the most powerful ruler of his time, serving him as a general in numerous major engagements among Alexander's surviving companions. Demetrios achieved his most notable triumph in the naval Battle of Salamis in 306 BC, where he soundly defeated Ptolemy I - a monumental victory that led to his father assuming the royal title. This move spurred Antigonos' adversaries to follow suit, and by the close of 305 BC, there were now four Macedonian kings: Antigonos, Ptolemy, Lysimachos, and Seleukos. In the years 305-304 BC, Demetrios oversaw the famous siege of Rhodes, earning him the epithet Poliorketes ('the Besieger'), though he ultimately failed to conquer the city. The defeat at the Battle of Ipsos in 301 BC dealt a decisive blow to the Antigonid aspirations of ruling the entirety of Alexander's vast empire. Antigonos himself met his end in the debacle, while his son, known for his notorious impetuosity which had greatly contributed to the defeat, narrowly escaped to Ephesos. Despite being outmatched on land, Demetrios asserted naval dominance for several years with his formidable fleet of 300 warships, securing control over many strategic harbor cities and briefly reclaiming Macedon in the late 290s BC. However, his recklessness led to his downfall when he invaded Asia Minor in 287 BC. Pursued by Agathokles, the son of Lysimachos, and Seleukos, Demetrios' forces dwindled rapidly, leading to his surrender to the latter in the early spring of 286 BC. Seleukos accorded the defeated former king, who happened to be his former father-in-law and his son's present father-in-law through Seleukos' marriage to Stratonike, with profound respect. He provided him with his own court and funded his extravagant lifestyle. In confinement, Demetrios, once known for his vigor and energy, succumbed to a life of indulgence and excess. He passed away three years later, at the age of 54, at the culmination of a life marked by rapid ascent and tragic downfall - a remarkable general and esteemed king, whose spectacular rise and fall stirred the emotions and aspirations of contemporaries and posterity alike. Estimate: 10000 CHF |  |
Match 3:
| Savoca Numismatik GmbH & Co. KG > Online Auction 198 | Silver | Auction date: 25 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 22 Price realized: 130 EUR (Approx. 141 USD) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Kings of Macedon. Lampsakos. Antigonos I Monophthalmos 320-301 BC. Drachm AR 18 mm, 4,19 g Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress / AΛEΞANΔP[OY], Zeus Aëtophoros seated to left, holding sceptre; forepart of Pegasos to left in left field, monogram below throne. Good Very Fine Price 1393; Müller 605; SNG Copenhagen 885; SNG Berry 221. Antigonus I Monophthalmus, born around 382 BC, emerged as a formidable Macedonian general and a key Diadoch, following Alexander the Great's death. Serving under Philip II, Antigonus displayed military prowess during Alexander's conquests, later asserting his claim to the entire empire's kingship. This marked the inception of the Antigonid dynasty, the last ruling house of Macedonia. Antigonus faced numerous challenges, instigating conflicts like the first Diadoch War. Despite successes in battles, such as Gaza, setbacks came against Ptolemy in Egypt and Seleucus in Babylon. His ambition to monopolize Alexander's empire led to a coalition formed by Ptolemy, Cassander, Lysimachus, and Seleucus against him. The Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC proved pivotal and fatal for Antigonus. Despite his strategic acumen, he suffered defeat due to tactical errors by his son Demetrius, ultimately leading to Antigonus' death in battle. The aftermath saw the division of his Asian territories among the coalition's victors. Antigonus' legacy embodies the ambition to reunify Alexander's empire, marking the end of the dream for a unified successor state. The Antigonid dynasty persisted, influencing the Hellenistic period, particularly in Macedonia. His son Demetrius continued the struggle, but the reunification of the Macedonian heartland remained elusive. Starting price: 50 EUR |  |
Match 4:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 126 | Auction date: 28 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 123 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot | |
| Lot description: KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander I. 498-454 BC. AR Tristater – "Oktadrachm" (30.5mm, 28.43 g). Light Aeginetic standard. Aigai mint. Struck circa 476/5-460 BC. Horseman, wearing chlamys and petasos, and holding two spears, standing right behind horse advancing right / Quadripartite incuse square. Raymond pl. II, 4; AMNG III p. 49, 7 (Bisaltai); HPM pl. XII, 2 (Bisaltai); SNG ANS 1; Athena Fund I 21 (same obv. die); Boston MFA 617 (Bisaltai); Gillet 739; Pozzi 696 = Rhousopoulos 1006 (Bisaltai). Attractive cabinet tone. EF. From the Wild Rose Collection. Ex Triton XXII (8 January 2019), lot 185; Osaka Collection (Hess-Divo 334, 29 May 2018), lot 40, assembled prior to 2000. By the end of the sixth century BC, the Kingdom of Macedon became an influential regional power, strategically located between the Persian Empire and the city-states of Greece. The wars with Persia further extended Macedon's importance, especially that of its young prince, Alexander I, the son of Amyntas. An astute politician, Alexander deftly maneuvered through this precarious situation. Although he early on offered his sister's hand in marriage to a Persian to offset punishment for his revenge against the high handedness of a Persian embassy in 514-513 BC, Alexander maintained an aloof but cordial relationship with the Persians as they moved through the region in 492 BC, forcing the other tribes to Medize. At the same time, he worked towards a stronger association with the Greeks. Herodotos (9.44) says that on the eve of the battle at Plataia, Alexander entered the Athenian camp to report that a delay in engaging the Persians would help to further diminish their already low supplies. In return, he hoped the Greeks (in particular the Athenians) would assist him when the time came, thereby forging a relationship between the rising power in the north with the rising Greek city-states of Athens, Sparta and their allies. This coin type had long been ascribed to the Bisaltai, one of the powerful Thraco-Macedonian tribes that struck coinage in the late 6th and early 5th centuries. The weight of the evidence now points to it being the earliest issue of Alexander I, when he was allied with the tribes against the Persians; he presumably struck coins with types that were acceptable to his allies and would, in fact, symbolize their alliance. For a discussion of the weight standard of this issue, see S. Psoma, "Did the So-Called Thraco-Macedonian Standard Exist?" in KAIPOΣ, pp. 167–90. Estimate: 10000 USD |  |
Match 5:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Triton XXVII | Auction date: 9 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 142 Price realized: 9,250 USD (Approx. 8,472 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander I. 498-454 BC. AR Tristater – "Oktadrachm" (29.5mm, 28.30 g, 11h). Light Aeginetic standard. Aigai mint. Struck circa 476/5-460 BC. Horseman, petasos hanging from neck, holding two spears, standing right, behind horse standing right / AΛE-ΞA-NΔ-PO in shallow incuse square around quadripartite square in relief. Raymond Group II, 51 (A10/P13); AMNG III/2, 31 var. (no crescent); HGC 3, 755; BMC 1 (same obv. die); Dewing 1082 (same obv. die); Pozzi 815 (same dies). Toned. In NGC encapsulation 6709090-001, graded Ch AU, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 2/5. Ex Leu Numismatik AG 3 (27 October 2018), lot 42. By the end of the sixth century BC, the Kingdom of Macedon became an influential regional power, strategically located between the Persian Empire and the city-states of Greece. The wars with Persia further extended Macedon's importance, especially that of its young prince, Alexander I, son of Amyntas. An astute politician, Alexander succeeded to the throne in 498 BC and deftly maneuvered through this precarious situation as the Persians extended their power and influence into Greece proper. Alexander maintained an aloof but cordial relationship with the Persians as they moved through Thrace and Macedon, forcing other tribes to offer earth and water in tribute. At the same time, he worked towards a stronger association with the Greeks, who still regarded Macedon as semi-barbaric. Herodotos (9.44) says that on the eve of the battle at Plataia, Alexander entered the Athenian camp to report that a delay in engaging the Persians would help to further diminish their already low supplies. In return, he hoped the Greeks (in particular the Athenians) would assist him when the time came, thereby forging a relationship between the rising power in the north with the rising Greek city-states of Athens, Sparta and their allies. In 476 BC he was acknowledged as a full-blooded Greek himself and allowed to participate in the Olympic Games of that year. Alexander I was the first Macedonian king to strike coins in his own name and likely made use of the silver mines of Mount Dysoron, which he used his Persian connections to obtain early in his reign. His large silver pieces, such as this splendid example, are denominated as tristaters or oktadrachms on the "heavy Thraco-Macedonian standard," and were evidently intended for trade with the Persians and other Greek states. A lighter weight standard was employed for coins in local situation, a situation which continued down to the time when Macedon became the dominant power in Greece and Asia Minor. Estimate: 10000 USD |  |
