Lysimachos. 305-281 BC, Tetradrachm

Lysimachos, AR Tetradrachm, 305–281 BC, Amphipolis mint; 16.81 g; 30 mm. Diademed head of the deified Alexander III right, with horn of Ammon. Reverse: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ; Athena Nikephoros enthroned left, holding Nike in her right hand, left elbow resting on shield; transverse spear behind. Struck on the Attic standard at Amphipolis. Thompson, Lysimachus 193.

Issued by one of Alexander the Great’s Diadochi, this tetradrachm type adopts the deified portrait of Alexander with the Ammon horn to assert dynastic legitimacy, while Athena Nikephoros on the reverse proclaims royal victory and protection. Amphipolis, a principal Macedonian mint and strategic center, produced large quantities of Lysimachan silver on the Attic standard, facilitating wide circulation across the Hellenistic world and shaping subsequent royal portrait coinage.