Macedon, Alexander III, the Great, Reigned circa 336-323 BC, AR Drachm, Colophon Mint, Struck ca. 310-301 BC, Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress/ ÁËÅÎÁÍÄÑÏÕ; Zeus enthroned left, holding eagle and sceptre, N; cf. M.J. Price 1797

How many hands have touched a coin in your pocket or your purse? What eras and lands have the coin traversed on its journey into our possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull out some change, we hesitate to think of who touched the coin before us, or where the coin will venture to after us. More than money, coins are symbols of the state that struck them. Currency represents a specific time and place, whether products of the age we live in today or an artifact of a long forgotten empire. 

Worth a week’s pay, a silver coin like this would have rewarded the bravery and fortitude of the officers serving under one of history’s most celebrated generals, Alexander the Great. Son to King Phillip II of Macedon, tutored in his youth by Aristotle, Alexander conquered one of the largest empires the world has ever known. Marching from Egypt, through Asia Minor, and into the heart of central Asia, Alexander lead a swift and successful military campaign that defeated the potent Persians and stretched the edges of civilization into new lands. While his vast empire dissolved after his death, the carefully cultivated legend of Alexander will continue to live on not only in our history books and museums, but also in artifacts like this coin: concrete remnants of ancient empires passed from the hands of civilization to civilization, from generation to generation. 

The glories of antiquity shine again with renewed brilliance and luster. Alexander is among the most celebrated and enduring figures of history.