Greek Coins.
Their surfaces, of gold, silver, and bronze, bristle with lance and spear, helmet and shield. On one of these coins Jove is seated and bearing an eagle, defying Alexander of Macedon, while on the obverse the same mighty conqueror impersonates Hercules. The oldest coin here is supposed to date back to 550 B.C. It is well to mention the fact that coins were never dated until the fifteenth century; and previous to that time the ages of coins can only be determined by the legends upon them, as answering to the page of corroborative history and the art era to which they belonged. No. 9 bears on the obverse the Macedonian horse, a favorite animal, which the then war-loving Greeks are said to have deified. At this period the haughty royal families began to chronicle in coin their line of descent. The kings of Macedon claimed Hercules for an ancestor, and in proof thereof the lion’s skin was a royal insignia. An old historian says, “The kings of Macedon, instead of the crown, the diadem, the purple, bear upon their effigy the skin of a lion.” Several pieces of money in this case, upon which are heads of Alexander, have rings in them, and were worn by gracious dames as ornaments. The value of this series of coins is priceless, as furnishing portraits of the heroes of that period which can be received without question as accurate, for the art patronage of the kingdom was regulated by the strictest laws. Alexander was especially jealous of how the future nations should regard his physique, allowing only three artists, during his reign, the privilege of drawing, painting, or modeling his head.[11] To such royal guardianship may be attributed the perfection to which Greek art attained; and it may well be a matter of regret that the same firmness in this regard was not universal. The last coin of this series is a small bronze coin, and was issued by Perseus, the last king of Macedon.