Obverse: Head of Athena Wearing a Crested
Corinthian Helmet
Reverse: Nike Standing Facing Left Holding a
Wreath and a Stylis
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 rarely hesitate to think of
who touched the coin before us, or where the
coin will venture to after us. More than money,
coins are a symbol of the state that struck them,
of a specific time and place, whether currency in
the age we live or an artifact of a long forgotten
empire. Worth almost a four months salary, a
gold 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
to new lands. While his vast kingdom 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.
- (C.4292)
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