Ancient Coins
The gold coinage of Babylon
After Alexander captured the Achaemenid treasuries in Persepolis, Susa, and Pasargadae, he melted down their gold and silver and minted enormous quantities of gold and silver coins—especially silver—in Babylon, using the Macedonian style and the Attic standard to pay soldiers and distribute spoils among senior army commanders. Here we present a sample of the gold coinage minted in…
After Alexander captured the Achaemenid treasuries in Persepolis, Susa and Pasargadae, he melted down their gold and silver and minted huge quantities of gold and silver coins – especially silver – in the Macedonian style and the Attic standard in Babylon to pay the soldiers’ salaries and distribute the spoils to the senior army commanders.
Here we present a model of the gold coinage minted in Babylon during the last months of Alexander's life, which he spent in the city before his sudden death in Nebuchadnezzar's palace.
Stater Gold category (8.5 grams)
On the front we see a profile depiction of the goddess Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet, while on the back we see a depiction of Nike standing looking to the left, holding a laurel wreath in one hand and a trident in the other. The king's name is written on the right margin.
AΛEΞANΔPOY (Alexandro)
* The piece pictured is from the museum collection Münzkabinett In Berlin
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