2022-01-28 Fri

Macedonia was the ancient kingdom in the Macedonian region of Northern Greece between the mid-7th Century BC and mid-2nd Century BC. This kingdom was founded and ruled by the royal Argead Dynasty. Macedonia became a vassal state of the Achaemenid Empire of ancient Persia during the reigns of Amyntas I of Macedon (r. 547 – 498 BC) and his son Alexander I of Macedon (r. 498 – 454 BC).

Alexander III, popularly known as Alexander the Great, ruled the Macedonian kingdom between 336–323 BC. Alexander was the leading federation of Greek states. During his campaign of conquest, he overthrew the Achaemenid Empire and stretched his territory as far as the Indus River. During his rule, the Macedonian Empire was the most powerful kingdom in the entire world.

This gold stater weighs around 8.61g was issued by Alexander the Great during his rule. The obverse side of this coin depicts the head of Athena right in a crested Corinthian helmet decorated with griffin. The reverse side of this coin depicts Nike standing left holding wreath and ship’s mast, Greek legend “BA??I?E?? A?E?AN?POY”.

This gold stater is listed for INR 85,000; in the upcoming online auction of Oswal antiques, which will be held on 19th February 2022.

Image Courtesy: Oswal Antiques