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 Replies: 17 / Views: 3,259 |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6130 Posts |
You know, you are actually right. Philip II's coins do indeed feature Apollo, not himself.
So Greek coins might be out of the running in that case. I think I remember that the Archaemenid kings were issuing some coins before being sacked by Alexander. I wonder if they have our answer?
Other than that, I think only India and China were issuing coins outside of the Greek sphere of influence, but China never issued a coin with a portrait until the 1900s, and India issued punch-marked coins until the arrival of the Greeks.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
There were antecedents. The first may have been Kherei, who ruled the Dynast of Xanthos from 425 - 400 BC. His portrait appears on the reverse of this issue:  Others include the Persian satrap Pharnabazos, c.410 BC...that's him on the obverse here:  Tissaphernes, Satrap of Astyra, Mysia from c.400 - 395 BC...obverse portrait:  Mithrapata of Antiphellos, who ruled c.380 - 360 BC...reverse portrait here:  And, also from Antiphellos, Perikles, c. 380 - 360 BC...obverse portrait:  Edited by Kamnaskires
06/16/2016 2:28 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
Well trust Bob to make me look foolish. I guess the Alex story just refers to Greek coinage then.
That Pharnabazos...what a beauty.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
Edited by Kamnaskires
06/16/2016 2:49 pm
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Interesting thread, I would have also said Phil II and Alexander.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
949 Posts |
Quote:
Alexander then used his face adorned in the Numidian lion skin as a homage to Herakles.
Not trying to make anyone look foolish, just setting the record straight for the visitor. The lionskin in the stories of Herakles was of the Nemean lion. Nemea in the Peloponnesus. Impressive list of examples Bob. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
Thanks IRB... better to look ignorant for a moment than stay ignorant for a lifetime... Nemean...wonder if that will stay in my head this time... wonder where I got Numidian from... maybe its that beetle that attracts condensation....
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Valued Member
Canada
266 Posts |
I think The first Macedonian coin to actually have a portrait of a king wasn't until after Alexander Died Philp and Alexander never had their portraits on a coin, it was usually Zeus on Philip's coins, and Herakles on Alexanders Ptolemy coin with portrait of Deified Alexander first struck in 311  Lysamachos coin with Portrait of Deified Alexander struck beginning in 297 BC  Portrait of Ptolemy I, struck around 300 BC  Edited by arnoldoe
06/16/2016 3:37 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
Yeesh, so that's what the Ptolemies had to work with *before* a dozen generations of sibling marriage?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
Wow, that Lysimachus is stunning...a real masterpiece.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
I think it is a matter for debate whether the picture is of Heracles or Alexander, Arnold.
To quote "When Alexander the Great (r. 336-323 B.C.) became king, he issued coins that were purposely similar to popular coins picturing Herakles. Claiming that the god was his ancestor, Alexander portrayed himself as the hero wearing the lion's skin as a helmet."
Most coins are advertised as "head of Heracles" but some dealers do say "Head of Alexander wearing Nemean lion skin"
The explanation for which is that it was purposefully ambiguous because putting his own image on the coin was breaking a taboo given the Greek belief that money was a godly thing.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
949 Posts |
Arnold, can you tell us a bit more about that first tet of Alexander you showed? The posthumous one with the devices on the reverse:  I am particularly interested in the ligatured letters reading "thedi" Any notes on that? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
The lifetime issues (AFAIK) are more or less the same as the posthumous issues featuring the deified Alexander. It's probably safe to say that even if the coins feature "Herakles", the engravers were using Alexander's real face as a model. A while back there was a thread about "who was the first person on US coinage" and there was some considerable debate about Columbus on the 1892 half dollar, versus the various models used for Liberty since 1792. |
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Valued Member
Canada
266 Posts |
There were Macedonian coins with the image of Herakles from well before Alexander was even born and Philip II made coins with the image of Herakles with the same same portrait as the coins of Alexander  "in the December 2003 Numismatist, Sear wrote, "The myth that the head of Herakles represented a disguised portrait of Alexander himself dates to ancient Greek times. However, in the world of Alexander, there was no such fashion of regal portraiture on coinage, and in any case virtually identical effigies of the hero appeared on the coins of Alexander's predecessors Philip II ... and Perdiccas III." http://rg.ancients.info/alexander/portrait.html |
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Posted 06/16/2016 2:23 pm
