Sale: CNG 78, Lot: 417. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 14 May 2008.  Sold For $700. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. AR Tetradrachm (16.88 g, 5h). Babylon mint. Struck under Perdikkas, circa 323-320 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; M in left field, LU below throne. Price 3692. EF, minor porosity, bright surfaces.

Just prior to his death, Alexander gave his ring to Perdikkas, who gained the support of the other generals and became regent for Philip III and Alexander's unborn son. By 320 BC, his autocratic leadership isolated him from the other Macedonian leaders, who assassinated Perdikkas while he campaigned against Ptolemy in Egypt. His death marked the beginning of the wars of the Diadochs.