Alexander III, 336-323 BC, Lifetime Tetradrachm

Alexander III. Tetradrachm, AR. 336–323 BC. 16.48 g; 26 mm. Amphipolis mint, lifetime issue.

Obverse with head of beardless Herakles right wearing the lion-skin headdress. Reverse with Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on a backless throne, holding eagle and scepter; legend ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ. Struck on the Attic standard at Amphipolis during Alexander’s lifetime. Reference: Price 4. Struck during Alexander’s reign, this Amphipolis tetradrachm belongs to the first large-scale imperial silver coinage that financed the Macedonian army and administration and standardized currency across the conquered territories. Amphipolis, supplied by nearby Thracian-Macedonian silver sources, was a principal mint. The Herakles portrait reflects the Argead dynasty’s claimed ancestry, while the seated Zeus and the legend ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ identify the royal authority under which the coin circulated; the type continued in vast quantities after 323 BC due to its broad acceptance.