KINGS OF MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’, 336-323 BC. Distater (Gold, 22 mm, 17.06 g, 7 h), Arados, struck under Laomedon of Mytilene, circa 324/3-320. Head of Athena to right, wearing Corinthian helmet decorated with a griffin springing right. Rev. AΛEΞANΔΡOΥ - BAΣIΛΕΩΣ Nike standing front, head to left, with her wings spread, holding laurel wreath in her right hand and stylis in her left; in field to outer left, kerykeion; to lower left, monogram of AP. Duyrat, Arados hellénistique, Groupe IV, Série 11, 538 (DStD1-R1) = HGC 10, 57 = Price 3331A (same dies). Of the highest rarity, the second known Aradian Distater of Alexander, and the only one in private hands. A beautiful piece of fine style, and of great numismatic interest. Minor marks and edge faults and with very light deposits, otherwise, very fine.

Alexander's distaters were almost exclusively minted in Macedonian mints (see Lots 123-124 above). Of the many mints outside the Macedonian homeland, only two Phoenician cities - Arados (Price 3331A) and Sidon (Price 3459 and 3462) - also issued this impressive large gold denomination. However, unlike their Macedonian counterparts, the Phoenician distaters are exceedingly rare. In fact, only a single specimen from Arados was previously known, housed in Vienna. Our coin, struck from the identical die pair, now represents the second known example and the first in private hands. These coins were minted under Laomedon of Mytilene, a Greek who held Macedonian citizenship and was an early companion of Alexander. Laomedon accompanied Alexander during his brief exile following the Pixodarus affair in 336 BC. He also took part in Alexander's campaign, though his role was not especially prominent. We know that he was responsible for overseeing the prisoners from the Battle of Issus in 333 BC and was one of the trierarchs of the fleet on the Indus. After Alexander's death, Laomedon became satrap of Syria, a province that included the Phoenician coastal cities. In this capacity, he was responsible for redirecting Alexander's funeral procession to Ptolemy in Egypt in 322 BC - a pivotal move, for which, ironically, the Egyptian ruler soon afterward expelled him from his satrapy. Laomedon's trail vanishes in Pisidia, where he joined Alketas and was likely defeated by Antigonos I Monophthalmos in 320 BC. Laomedon’s memory is particularly preserved in the impressive Lion of Amphipolis, a monument over four meters tall, possibly erected in his honor outside the city walls of Amphipolis, the city that had granted him Macedonian citizenship under Philip II. The reason Laomedon chose to mint distaters in his satrapy remains unclear, as does the exact purpose of the Macedonian originals. They may have been minted as 'donatives' for Macedonian officers returning from the East, though more practical reasons are also possible. The extreme rarity of the Phoenician coins suggests they were produced for only a short period. The Arados die pair, being the only one from this mint, is stylistically far superior to the issues from Sidon. Notably, the depiction of Nike on these coins differs from all other distaters of Alexander: instead of standing, Nike is shown walking to the left