Lysimachos. 305-281 BC, Tetradrachm

Lysimachos, Tetradrachm, AR, 305–281 BC, uncertain mint, 16.96 g, 30 mm. Diademed head of the deified Alexander III right, with horn of Ammon. Reverse legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ; Athena Nikephoros seated left on a backless throne, holding Nike in right hand, left arm resting on shield; spear behind; two control monograms in the field, mint attribution uncertain. Struck on the Attic standard; broad flan, weight within normal tolerance; die axis not recorded. For the type, cf. Thompson, Lysimachus (passim); Müller, Alexander; SNG Copenhagen (Lysimachus group); cf. HGC (Lysimachus).

Lysimachos, one of Alexander the Great’s Successors and later king of Thrace and parts of Asia Minor, employed the deified portrait of Alexander with the Ammon horn to legitimize his rule after adopting the royal title in 305/4 BC. His silver tetradrachms, struck on the Attic standard at numerous mints identified by control monograms, provided a stable and widely accepted coinage across the Aegean and western Asia Minor. The Athena reverse continued Alexander’s iconography and underscored dynastic continuity, making this series a principal medium of state messaging and commerce in the early Hellenistic world.