Macedon, Alexander the Great (336-323 BC), gold Stater, lifetime issue, Miletus, 325-323 BC, helmeted head of Athena right, thunderbolt below neck, rev. [Α]ΛΕΞΑΝΔΡ[ΟΥ], Nike standing left, holding wreath and stylis, monogram in left field, 8.61g, 2h (Price 2077). Fine.

Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia 336-323 BC, was famed for both his defeat of the Persian Empire and for founding the Hellenic Kingdom. In his youth he was educated by Aristotle, reportedly had a dynamic personality, and was one of the greatest generals the world has known, despite becoming king at just 20 years old. He was recognised as divine while still alive, in the manner of Near-Eastern Monarchs, despite this causing discomfort to his Greek subjects. He died in 323 BC, likely of Typhoid fever, at just 33 years old, and much of the Empire he had built later collapsed.