Lysimachos. 305-281 BC, Tetradrachm

Lysimachos, Tetradrachm, AR, 305–281 BC, struck c. 288–281 BC, 17.16 g, 31 mm. Obverse: Diademed head of the deified Alexander III right, with the horn of Ammon. Reverse: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ; Athena Nikephoros seated left on a backless throne, holding Nike in her right hand, left arm resting on a shield; spear behind; controls in field; Pella mint. Struck on the Attic standard at Pella during Lysimachos’ control of Macedonia. Thompson 246.

Lysimachos, one of Alexander the Great’s successors, used this coinage to legitimize his rule by promoting the cult of the deified Alexander, shown with the Ammon horn. The type, introduced across his mints, combined Alexander’s divine portrait with Athena Nikephoros to project authority and military success. Struck at Pella after Lysimachos and Pyrrhos expelled Demetrios from Macedonia in 288 BC, these tetradrachms anchored royal finance and facilitated trade in the late Hellenistic power struggle that preceded Lysimachos’ defeat at Koroupedion in 281 BC.