Uncertain issuer, Tetradrachm, in the name of Alexander III

Uncertain issuer (in the name of Alexander III, 336–323 BC), Tetradrachm, AR, lifetime or posthumous issue uncertain; 16.77 g; 27 mm. Diademed head of Antiochos II to right, features largely effaced and identification tentative due to wear. Reverse with legend AΛEΞANΔPOY; the central type and any control marks are illegible. Struck by an uncertain authority and mint; ancient strike on a broad flan with heavy circulation wear that precludes die or mint attribution. Unassigned in the standard corpora; for the series in the name of Alexander, see Price, The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great (1991); for Seleucid portrait tetradrachms of Antiochos II, see Houghton & Lorber, Seleucid Coins I.

Alexander’s tetradrachms became the dominant silver trade currency of the eastern Mediterranean and Near East, and production continued under successor states for generations. Many Hellenistic rulers maintained or interacted with the Alexander standard and legend to ensure wide acceptability in commerce. If the obverse portrait here is correctly read as Antiochos II (261–246 BC), the coin reflects that interface between royal portraiture and the enduring “AΛEΞANΔPOY” monetary brand; its worn state prevents precise attribution but is consistent with long circulation of such issues.