Alexander III, 336-323 BC, Lifetime Tetradrachm

Alexander III (the Great), tetradrachm, AR, 336–323 BC, 16.46 g, 26 mm. Lifetime issue, attributed to Myriandros or Issos. Obverse: Head of beardless Herakles right, wearing the lion-skin headdress. Reverse: AΛEΞANΔPOY; Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter. Struck on the Attic standard; surfaces suspicious (warning), offered as-is. Price 3218.

Issued during Alexander’s lifetime and attributed to the coastal Cilician region near the site of the 333 BC Battle of Issos, this tetradrachm represents the principal monetary medium of his campaigns. The Herakles obverse reflects the Macedonian royal claim of Heraklid descent, while Zeus with the legend AΛEΞANΔPOY denotes authority in Alexander’s name. Such issues financed the army and administration, spread the Attic weight standard across the Near East, and formed the basis for subsequent Hellenistic coinages.