Alexander III, 336-323 BC, Posthumous Tetradrachm

Alexander III (the Great), AR tetradrachm, 336–323 BC; posthumous issue, Babylon, c. 323–311 BC; 16.71 g; 26 mm. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress, the forepaws knotted beneath the chin. Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on a backless throne, holding eagle in right hand and scepter in left; legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ. Struck at Babylon on the Attic standard in the name of Alexander after his death for continued use under the Diadochi. For type, Price 3747.

Following Alexander’s death in 323 BC, the Babylon mint remained a principal production center for silver on the Attic standard, striking large volumes of tetradrachms in Alexander’s name to sustain the army payroll and administrative finances of the successors. The Herakles/Zeus type and royal legend provided continuity of authority during the transitional rule of Philip III Arrhidaeus and Alexander IV and into the early Seleucid period, and these Babylon issues circulated widely across Mesopotamia and the eastern Mediterranean, anchoring Hellenistic monetary systems.