Ancient Coins and Alexander's Empire

Skilled artisans used hand forged tools to engrave dies and hand stamp images onto ancient coins. Many of these coins survive today with remarkably good condition and provide telling portraits of ancient rulers and contemporary images of their world. These coins were the world's first mass media. Alexander the Great and other rulers used their coins for commerce and to communicate their messages to their subjects and trading partners. Their coins convey messages of strength and power, celebrate accomplishments and beliefs and, sometimes, deliberately deceive. In so doing, they left a remarkable record of images that enable us see a part of their ancient world just as they saw it. In Ancient Coins and Alexander's Empire, these coins are used to explore an ancient world that set the stage for our modern society. We hope you agree that these coins and the narrative they illustrate convey something unique and personal about who our ancient ancestors were and what they did to shape our world.