★ An extremely rare stater of Alexander III with Nike holding a palm frond instead of a stylis ★

KINGS OF MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’, 336-323 BC. Stater (Gold, 19 mm, 8.55 g, 1 h), Ephesos, circa 305-295. Head of Athena to right, wearing Corinthian helmet decorated with a coiled serpent. Rev. AΛEΞANΔΡOΥ Nike standing front, head to left, with her wings spread, holding laurel wreath in her right hand and long palm frond in her left; to left, bee between [E]-Φ. Price 1875. Extremely rare and of great interest. A lovely, sharp and lustrous piece. Good extremely fine.

Price points out that the very unusual replacement of the stylis with a palm frond on the reverse of this coin is paralleled by an issue of Miletos (Price 2136). Perhaps the two issues were struck as payments to specific land forces, or they may just reflect, as Price suggests, 'the military rather than naval preoccupations of those responsible for the issue'.