Stater of Alexander the Great, Babylon c. 323

Curator: This is a Stater of Alexander the Great, likely minted in Babylon, weighing in at 8.6 grams. It strikes me immediately as a rather potent symbol, even in its small scale. Editor: Gold. The inherent worth of the material itself is the message. Think about the mining, the smelting, the labor, the power it represents! Curator: On one side, we see Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare, a clear nod to Alexander's military prowess. The other depicts Nike, the winged goddess of victory. Editor: The minting process itself would have been carefully controlled, a direct link to the flow of capital and control of resources in his vast empire. What does it say about the distribution of wealth? Curator: It's fascinating to consider how these images, carefully chosen and circulated, would have shaped the perception of Alexander's power and legitimacy. The symbols of the gods made tangible. Editor: And that's precisely it! The gold standard, in its time and ours, reflects power and class. Something worth holding and hoarding. Curator: Food for thought on how iconography and value intertwine. Editor: Exactly, seeing the coin beyond its face value brings an important perspective.