Sale: CNG 82, Lot: 406. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 16 September 2009.  Sold For $600. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander I. 498-454 BC. AR Diobol(?) (0.97 g). Aigai mint. Struck circa 460-452 BC. Forepart of horse right; A below truncation / Helmeted head right in linear square within incuse square. Raymond group III, pl. XI, c = AMNG III/2, 16 = SNG Copenhagen 488; cf. SNG ANS 36; SNG Alpha Bank 28 (same obv. die); BMC 17. Good VF, toned.

All references to the Copenhagen and ANS coins record “three dots” under the horse, rather than an A. This is likely an error due to the poor preservation of their coins. The illustration in SNG Copenhagen, perhaps the clearest of all the references illustrating that example, shows that the dots may be connected by lines. Such lines are also slightly visible on the photograph of the ANS coin, which the ANS catalog lists as “[p]robably the obv. die of Raymond pl. XI, c.” The BMC catalog actually lists four dots, but without an illustration; it is uncertain whether wear is a factor in reading this coin. On the present coin, as well as the SNG Alpha Bank example, the A is plainly visible, and, in contrast to the others, both of these coins are well-preserved examples struck from relatively fresh dies. The appearance of the A also suggests this coin may be more appropriate to Alexander’s Group II coinage (circa 477/6-460 BC), where it occurs on many of his issues.