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Hellenistic Coin Images – from Pictures of the Gods to Real Portraiture      "You shall not make for yourself an image of God," it says in the Bible. This was completely different in ancient Greece, where it was customary to mint coins with the image of a deity.

The Hellenistic rulers changed this, however: just as vain as the gods and knowing that there is hardly anything that travels as far as a coin, they perpetuated themselves on their money. At first they endued themselves with the attributes of a deity. Later, this guise could be given up, as the rulers themselves were considered as gods now, or at least as their deputies. From this time on, power was not in the hands of the community under divine protection any more, but in those of the king alone.

 

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Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III the Great (336-323 BC) in the Name of Philip II, Stater, c. 324 BC, Colophon      

 

 

 Denomination: Stater  Mint Authority: King Alexander III of Macedon  Mint: Colophon  Year of Issue: -324  Weight (g): 8.6  Diameter (mm): 19.0  Material: Gold  Owner: Sunflower Foundation   Through decades of war, King Philip II of Macedon established his authority over the Greek world. This was a remarkable achievement for the previously insignificant Kingdom. It had first and foremost been made possible by military reforms that Philip had implemented during his first years of reign, when he had appointed capable generals, introduced new armament and reorganized the army. Never before had the world known such effective armed forces as Philip's Macedonian army; Macedon had developed into a superpower.

In the summer of 336 BC, Philip II was assassinated and his son Alexander III succeeded him. Alexander soon followed in his father's footsteps and celebrated under the name of Alexander the Great fabulous triumphs (334-324 BC). However, Alexander's achievements would not have been possible without the reorganization of the Macedonian army and the powerful position that his father had achieved.

This coin of Alexander was minted in the Lydian town of Colophon only one year before his death. It bears a beautiful portrait of the Greek god Apollo. It is a so-called Philip's stater, for Alexander's father Philip had already minted thousands such coins – for diplomatic purposes (for bribery thus) and for the pay of his mercenaries. These mercenaries, among them many Celts from northern and central Europe, spread the Philip's staters on their return home. The coins became so popular that they were minted long after Philip's death – not only by his son Alexander and his successors, but also by diverse Celtic tribes.

 

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Alexander's Empire, Alexander III, the Great (336-323 BC), Tetradrachm, Memphis      

 

 

 Denomination: Tetradrachm  Mint Authority: King Alexander III of Macedonia  Mint: Memphis  Year of Issue: -332  Weight (g): 17.09  Diameter (mm): 28.0  Material: Silver  Owner: Sunflower Foundation   The obverse of this tetradrachm shows Alexander the Great in the guise of the Greek hero Heracles, whom Alexander regarded as progenitor of his family. The reverse depicted the father of the gods, Zeus, with an eagle, and the inscription "Alexandroy" (for Alexander's coin).

Alexander had such tetradrachms minted in huge numbers. Whenever he captured a new city, the silver reserves kept in the temples were turned into money – in this case it was the silver of the Egyptian city of Memphis: the rose besides Zeus is the mint mark for Memphis. Alexander's soldiers spread his coins all over the then-known world. The reputation and degree of popularity of Alexander's coins assured them wide acceptance as trade money. Soon cities, and later also Celtic tribes, started to issue money modeled after Alexander's tetradrachms.

 

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Kingdom of Thrace, Lysimachus (323-281 BC), Tetradrachm, c. 297-281 BC, Magnesia      

 

 

 Denomination: Tetradrachm  Mint Authority: King Lysimachus of Thrace  Mint: Magnesia  Year of Issue: -297  Weight (g): 17.18  Diameter (mm): 29.0  Material: Silver  Owner: Sunflower Foundation   After the death of Alexander the Great, his generals divided the huge empire into independent kingdoms and adopted the title of king. Individual kings – like Ptolemy in Egypt and Demetrius in Macedon – renounced Alexander's tetradrachms and began to strike new coins with their own portraits. Not so Lysimachus, king of Thrace. He was one of the few to stay faithful to Alexander's type of coin motifs – at least as far as the obverse was concerned. On it, he had Alexander depicted with the features of a son of Zeus Ammon, therewith he proclaimed his divine power as ruler. The reverse Lysimachus claimed for himself, however: there Nike, the goddess of victory, crowns his name.

 

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Kingdom of Egypt, Ptolemy I Soter (305-283 BC), Tetradrachm, Alexandria      

 

 

 Denomination: Tetradrachm  Mint Authority: King Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt  Mint: Alexandria  Year of Issue: -305  Weight (g): 14.32  Diameter (mm): 27.0  Material: Silver  Owner: Sunflower Foundation   The Ptolemies were Macedonians on the Egyptian throne. The founder of the dynasty was Ptolemy I Soter, of whom see a wonderful portrait of old age in Hellenistic style on this tetradrachm. The reverse depicts the eagle of the Greek godfather Zeus on a thunderbolt.

Ptolemy was one of the diadochs, one of the commanders of Alexander the Great who divided Alexander's empire after his sudden death in 323 BC. Ptolemy became satrap of Egypt, which he turned into a kingdom in 305 BC. Since then he called himself king and had himself depicted on his coins. The style of his portrait was to dominate Ptolemaic coinage – with variations – until the end of the dynasty in the year 30 BC.

 

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Kingdom of Macedonia, Philip V (221-179 BC), Didrachm, Pella?      

     

     

 Denomination: Didrachm  Mint Authority: King Philip V of Macedonia  Mint: Pella?  Year of Issue: -221  Weight (g): 8.51  Diameter (mm): 25.0  Material: Silver  Owner: Sunflower Foundation   Philip V of Macedonia was an ally of Hannibal, yonder Carthaginian general who in 218 BC crossed the Alps with war elephants and over the next decade gave the Romans a lesson in fear. In the end, however, Rome defeated all her enemies: In 201 BC Carthage was subdued and in 196 BC Philip suffered a decisive defeat: he had to abandon his fleet, give hostages and pay a tribute of 1,000 talents, which amounted to about 3,000 didrachms.

The obverse of this didrachm shows Philip with a short beard and a diadem in his hair. On the reverse is a club within a wreath of oak leaves. Oak leave-wreaths were the distinguishing marks of ancient Italic regents, and the club was the weapon of heroes, especially of Heracles, whose attribute it was. It symbolized valor and the readiness to defend oneself. These were certainly among Philip's qualities, even though they did not help him in the end.

 

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Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom, Demetrius I (c. 200-c. 180 BC), Tetradrachm      

 

 

 Denomination: Tetradrachm  Mint Authority: King Demetrius I of Bactria  Mint: Undefined  Year of Issue: -200  Weight (g): 16.71  Diameter (mm): 33.0  Material: Silver  Owner: Sunflower Foundation   This tetradrachm shows Hellenistic culture at its best. We are looking at King Demetrius I wearing an elephant scalp. This peculiar headgear alludes to Demetrius' conquest of India. Demetrius obviously felt he was the successor of Alexander the Great. Unquestionable Greek influence can also be seen on the coin's reverse, which shows the Greek hero Heracles, and the Greek inscription "Basileos Dimitrioy" (King Demetrius).

Tetradrachms of Bactria were famous for their wonderful royal portraits. They look so modern that one might think the coins had been minted in the 18th century.

 

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Kingdom of Macedonia, Perseus (179-168 BC), Tetradrachm, Amphipolis?      

 

 

 Denomination: Tetradrachm  Mint Authority: King Perseus of Macedonia  Mint: Amphipolis?  Year of Issue: -179  Weight (g): 15.4  Diameter (mm): 32.0  Material: Silver  Owner: Sunflower Foundation   Perseus was the last king of Macedonia. During his reign a whole series of brilliant portrait coins was issued. This one shows the young king wearing a short beard and a royal diadem very realistically, without pretension to represent a god or a hero. The reverse illustrates an eagle standing on a thunderbolt.

 

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Seleucid Empire, Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 BC), Tetradrachm, c. 169-164 BC, Antioch      

 

 

 Denomination: Tetradrachm  Mint Authority: King Antiochos IV of the Seleucids  Mint: Antioch  Year of Issue: -169  Weight (g): 16.75  Diameter (mm): 32.0  Material: Silver  Owner: This tetradrachm features the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes as the Greek god Zeus. Today it may seem rather puzzling to compare a political ruler with a god. However, in antiquity this was nothing extraordinary: other kings gave themselves divine features and attributes. It helps to recall that in antiquity the king held office as a divine representative.

The reverse depicts Zeus again, this time sitting on a throne. On his right hand he holds a nike who offers him a laurel wreath, while in his left hand Zeus holds a scepter.

 

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Parthian Empire, Mithradates II (123-88 BC), Drachm, Ekbatana      

 

 

 Denomination: Drachm  Mint Authority: King Mithridates II of Parthia  Mint: Ekbatana  Year of Issue: -123  Weight (g): 4.06  Diameter (mm): 20.0  Material: Silver  Owner: Sunflower Foundation   This drachm depicts King Mithradates II of Parthia who was called "the Great" in Ancient Times already. He was the most significant of all Parthian kings, expanding his empire to its largest area.

Mithradates II was the first Parthian king to call himself shahanshah (King of Kings) on his coins, thus tying up with the Achaemenid kings. The reverse of our coin features Arsaces, the founder of the Parthian Empire.