Topic: [WTS]MACEDON Kingdom of Macedon Alexander III the Great 336-323 B.C. AV Distater (Read 71 times)

Offering for sale the following graded ancient coin from my collection in a Bitcoin deal.

MACEDON Kingdom of Macedon Alexander III the Great 336-323 B.C. AV Distater (17.16 gms), Aegeae Mint, ca. 336-323 B.C.

Pr-191; Muller-5. RARE. Lifetime issue. Head of Athena facing right wearing triple crested Corinthian helmet, serpent on helm; Reverse: Nike standing left holding stylis and extending wreath, thunderbolt in left field, monogram under left wing. Exceptionally well centered with bold strike details and lovely surfaces. The Alexander Distaters were the heaviest gold coins produced by the Greeks up to that time.

Alexander the Great's conquest of the Persian Empire "liberated" vast stores of gold and silver that had been locked away for centuries in the Great King's treasuries in Sardes, Susa, Persepolis and Babylon. At the beginning of his reign in 336 BC, the Macedonian Kingdom was reportedly in debt to the tune of 500 silver talents (a talent being 6,000 silver drachms and a "king's ransom" in earliest Greek times). To give an idea of the vast loot his conquests amassed, at Susa alone Alexander seized 50,000 talents of silver and 40,000 of gold. This huge intake of bullion resulted in hitherto unseen denominations such as the gold distater, tariffed at two staters and ten silver tetradrachms, about 20 day's wages for a Macedonian soldier during wartime. The distater was likely employed to pay off many of Alexander's veteran soldiers, who were rewarded for their labors with the equivalent of a silver talent. With the new denomination, a talent could be paid out as 120 gold distaters.

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eBay Link - https://www.ebay.com/itm/224621960221

Price is negotiable and escrow/special arrangement are required, payment will be accepted via Bitcoin only.
PM for details.