Roger Uselton Collection of Ancient and Biblical Coins
Coin Detail
- Uselton Catalog #: 15
- Class: Greek
- Ruling Authority: Alexander the Great (336-323 B.C.)
- Date Struck: 336-323 BC
- Type: AR (silver) drachm
- Size: 16.4 mm.
- Weight: 4.08 g.
- Die Axis: 0°
- Obverse: Head of Herakles right in lion skin.
- Reverse: Zeus seated left holding eagle and scepter; throne, ALEXANDROU to right.
- Exergue:
- References:
- Original #: 21
This drachm may be posthumous and thus date from after the lifetime of Alexander. “Alexander the Great of Macedonia inherited his father’s dream of conquering the Persian empire. Soon after his father’s assassination in 336 B.C., Alexander led Greek and Macedonian forces into Asia Minor, sweeping down the coast and liberating its Greek cities from the Persians. He occupied Syria and Phoenicia and was accepted as pharaoh of Egypt. There he founded the important city of Alexandria and visited the oracle of Zeus Ammon, where he was recognized as a son of Zeus. He then turned eastward toward Mesopotamia, where he defeated the main army of the Persians. Finally, he pushed further eastward, beyond the Indus River, where in 327 B.C. his exhausted troops forced him to turn back. On the return Alexander began to secure and organize his far-flung empire, but in the summer of 323 B.C. he died of fever in Babylonia.”—Ancient Coin Art