Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III 'the Great' AV Stater. Struck under Menander. Sardes, circa 334-323 BC. Head of Athena to right, wearing triple-crested Corinthian helmet decorated with [coiled serpent] / Nike standing to left, holding wreath and stylis; ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ to left, rose in inner left field, monogram to right. Price 2548; ADM I, series IX, 52 = ANS 1944.100.31010 (same dies); GRPC Lydia G81; HGC 3.1, 893g. 8.52g, 18mm, 12h.

NGC graded VF 5/5 - 2/5, scuffs (#6158069-004). Extremely Rare; possibly the second known example.

From the GK Collection;
Ex Gorny & Mosch Giessener Münzhandlung, Auction 220, 11 March 2014, lot 1187.

Thompson notes the unusual style of this stater: "Its obverse die bears no resemblance to any other in either the Sardian sequence or elsewhere in the Alexander coinage. One is tempted to regard it with suspicion but it certainly seems to be genuine, and the deletion of the symbol from the original die is more likely to have happened at the mint than in a forger's workshop. The position of the inscription, reading upward in circular fashion from lower left, is also unparalleled at Sardes although it does occur briefly at Miletus and a few other mints."