Item number: A206

Year: 336-323 BC

Material: Silver

Size: 17.8 x 17.3 x 2.3 mm

Weight: 3.15 g

Provenance: Coincraft 2016

This is a drachm silver coin minted in the name of Alexander the Great. The drachm was a weight unit in the ancient Greek world, later adopted as the denomination for silver coins, weighing approximately 3.8 g.

The obverse of the coin depicts the portrait of Heracles, the legendary hero, wearing the Nemean lion’s skin on his head, symbolising his first and most famous labor—slaying the Nemean lion as part of his Twelve Labours. On the reverse side is Zeus, the king of the gods in Greek mythology, depicted as a half-naked figure seated on his throne, with an eagle perched on his right hand and holding a sceptre made of orbs in his left hand. The legend in ancient Greek “AΛEΞANΔP” signifies “Alexander.” Adjacent to Zeus is an upward-pointing spearhead, which serves as a symbol of the Colophon mint, responsible for minting the coin.

Twelve Labours: As the illegitimate son of Zeus, Hercules was cursed by Zeus’s first wife Hera to accidentally kill his own son. To this end, Hercules must pass twelve difficult challenges to wash away the sins he has committed.

Colophon was located near Izmir, Turkey, adjacent to the Aegean Sea, and during the era of the Greek city-states, it served as a significant centre for commerce and coin minting. According to records, during Alexander the Great’s reign, there were a total of twenty-five mints within the empire, with twenty-three located in Asia, including Colophon. Each mint had one or more symbols unique to itself.

Alexander claimed descent from both Zeus and Heracles, hence his coins often featured the portraits of these two deities. Through his brief yet illustrious conquests, Alexander also catalysed the development of the Hellenistic world. In 323 BC, Alexander died of illness during his military campaign. His infant son, Alexander IV, and his half-brother, Philip III, continued to mint coins featuring his likeness. Furthermore, some successor kingdoms of the Hellenistic world also minted similar coins, albeit replacing Alexander’s portrait on the reverse side with their own names.

物件編號: A206

年代: 公元前 336-323 年

材料: 銀

尺寸: 17.8 x 17.3 x 2.3 mm

重量: 3.15 g

來源: 錢幣工藝 2016

這是一枚以亞歷山大大帝之名鑄造的打蘭銀幣，打蘭是古希臘世界的重量單位，後來延伸為銀幣的面額，重量大致是3.8克左右。

硬幣正面是呼應希臘神話故事，大力士海克力士頭戴獅子皮的右側肖像，這是海克力士面對神明的十二道挑戰中，第一道也是最出名的尼米亞獅子。硬幣背面則是希臘神話中的眾神之王宙斯，宙斯上半身赤裸坐在他的寶座之上，右手站著一隻老鷹，左手則是握著圓珠構成的權杖。宙斯右側鐫刻古希臘文「AΛEΞANΔP」亞歷三大的意思。旁邊有一支向上的矛頭，是負責鑄造硬幣的科洛封鑄造廠符號之一。

十二道挑戰: 海克力士作為宙斯的私生子，受到宙斯元配赫拉的詛咒在無意間殺死自己的兒子。為此海克力士必須通過十二道困難的挑戰，以洗滌自身犯下的罪惡。

科洛封位於比鄰愛琴海的土耳其伊茲密爾附近，在希臘城邦時代就是重要的商業和鑄造錢幣的中心。根據紀錄在亞歷山大生前，帝國境內總共有二十五座鑄幣廠，包含科洛封在內有二十三座位於亞洲。每一座鑄幣廠都有一個或多個屬於自家的符號。

亞歷山大自許為宙斯和海克力士的後裔，因此他的硬幣經常出現這兩位神明的肖像。亞歷山大在他短暫卻輝煌的征服中，也促成希臘化世界的發展。公元前323年，亞歷山大病死於征途後，他的共同繼承者：尚在襁褓的兒子亞歷山大四世和異母兄弟腓力三世仍鑄造該款硬幣。甚至後續一些希臘化世界的王國也依樣鑄造，不過將背面的亞歷山大更改為各自的名字。