★ An unpublished early civic tetradrachm from Alexandreia ★

TROAS. Alexandreia. Circa 164-65 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 37 mm, 16.79 g, 12 h), circa 160s-150s BC. Laureate head of Apollo to left. Rev. AΠΟΛΛΩNOΣ - ZMIΘEΩΣ / AΛEΞAN Apollo Smintheos standing right, holding patera in his right hand and bow and arrow in his left; in inner left field, monogram of XP; in inner right field, monogram of ΠYI. Bellinger -. Leu 28 (1981), 138 var. (slightly differing monograms). Apparently unpublished and unique. A beautiful and interesting issue, with a magnificent head of Apollo remniscent of the finest Myrinaean prototypes. Some minor nicks, otherwise, good very fine.

The great majority of the few known autonomous tetradrachms from Alexandreia in the Troas are dated to the foundation of the city in 300 BC, but much like the coin in Leu 28 (1981), 138, our coin falls out of alignment by carrying no date. It needs hardly to be pointed out that the obverses of the Alexandreian silver coinage are heavily influenced by the Stephanophoric coinage from Myrina, whereas the reverses imitate those from nearby Ilion. The fine early style of this piece and the lack of magistrate names, which first occur in 148 BC, help us in dating the coin: it must have been struck sometime in the 160s-150s, most likely in the late 160s, as both this and the very similar Leu 28 example carry slight variations of a monogram also apparent on the earliest dated tetradrachm from 164 BC (Bellinger A133).