Alexander III, 336-323 BC, Lifetime Tetradrachm

Alexander III (the Great), AR tetradrachm, reign 336–323 BC; struck at Aradus (Phoenicia) under Ptolemy I as satrap, c. 323–320 BC; 16.64 g; 25 mm. Obverse: Head of beardless Herakles right, wearing the lion-skin headdress tied at neck. Reverse: AΛEΞANΔPOY; Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on a backless throne, holding eagle in right hand and sceptre in left; Aradian control marks for the issue. Hammer-struck on the Attic standard with fabric and style characteristic of the Aradus workshop for this series. Price 3426.

Issued in the immediate aftermath of Alexander’s campaigns, this Aradus tetradrachm reflects the early assertion of Ptolemy’s authority along the Phoenician coast while retaining Alexander’s widely accepted coin types to ensure monetary continuity. The Herakles/Zeus design served as the primary imperial currency standard across the eastern Mediterranean, facilitating troop payments and trade during the unsettled early Diadoch period and documenting the transition from unified Macedonian rule to regional satrapal control.