| Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. > Buy or Bid Sale 226 | Auction date: 13 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 302 Price realized: Unsold | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Macedonia, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC. Tetradrachm; Macedonia, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC; Colophon(?), c. 200-190 BC, Tetradrachm, 16.81g. Price-1854 var. Obv: Head of Herakles r. in lion-skin headdress. Rx: ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ Zeus enthroned l.; ΚΟΛ above KA in l. field, monogram under throne. The ΚΟΛ on the reverse here seems to clearly point to Colophon as the issuing city, but this intriguing piece differs from published examples in several ways: ΚΟΛ is, unsurprisingly, attested from Colophon, as is ΚΟΛO (Price-1863,) but KA is not. The monogram on the present coin resembles those on Price-1854 and 1863, but perfectly matches neither; in fact, we don't find this precise monogram configuration anywhere in the vast corpus of posthumous Alexander tetradrachms. The most significant variation of the present coin from published examples is the apparent absence of a symbol on the reverse. Price explicitly states regarding Colophon that "The late posthumous issues of this mint are clearly identified by the lyre or horse symbol," so the apparent lack of either symbol here puts the attribution to Colophon in some doubt. Might faint traces of a lyre be visible here above ΚΟΛ, deliberately or inadvertently erased from the die?While there are many symbols that indicate when and where this coin was struck, the combo is not in Martin Price's book on Alexander. aEF Estimate: 1750 USD |  |
