336-323 BC Alexander The Great Gold Distater NGC AU Lifetime Very Very Rare

MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. Alexander III the Great (336-323 BC). AV distater (21mm, 17.15 gm, 12h). NGC AU 5/5 - 1/5, Lifetime issue of Amphipolis, 325-323 BC. Head of Athena right, hair in four tight corkscrew curls, upswept at temple, and flowing over left shoulder, wearing beaded necklace and triple-crested Corinthian helmet pushed back on head, long divergent crest ends, bowl decorated with coiled serpent right / ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Nike standing facing, head left, wreath in outstretched right hand, stylis cradled in left arm; trident head downward in outer left field. Price 171. Müller 104. Troxell Studies, Group A, 532-533. Gulbenkian 841. Stunning specimen with serene, feminine portrait of Athena.

The Distater Denomination is the largest Gold Coin struck under Alexander the Greats authority. A Distater is a (Double Stater or two staters) it was thought to have been struck to pay his Officers. It is the rarest denomination and never found in Museums.

Alexander the Great, born in 356 BC in Pella, ancient Macedonia, was a prodigious military commander who, through relentless conquests, created one of the largest empires in history by the age of 30. Educated by the philosopher Aristotle, Alexander was well-versed in various subjects, which later influenced his governance and military strategies. His conquests began with the invasion of Persia and stretched through Asia and Northeast Africa, including Egypt and India. His military genius and cultural inclusionary efforts led to the birth of the Hellenistic civilization, a blending of Greek and Eastern cultures, which profoundly impacted the subsequent history of Europe and the Middle East. Alexander died in 323 BC in Babylon under mysterious circumstances, leaving a vast but short-lived empire, as it soon fragmented into smaller Hellenistic states. His coins were minted in vast quantities across his empire, which helped in the propagation of his image and ideology. He standardized the designs and weights of his coinage, thereby facilitating ease of trade across his vast dominion. The iconography of his coins was continued by his successors and well into the Roman era, underscoring the lasting legacy of Alexander's reign on the ancient monetary system.