Alexander III, 336-323 BC, Posthumous Issue Tetradrachm

Alexander III “the Great”, tetradrachm, AR, posthumous issue (c. 323–300 BC), Temnos mint, 16.81 g, 27 mm. Obverse with the head of Herakles right, wearing the lion-skin headdress, the facial features and hair rendered in the late Classical style typical of Alexander’s posthumous coinage. Reverse with Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on a backless throne, holding eagle and sceptre, with the legend AΛEΞANΔPOY; civic issue of Temnos within the Alexandrine tetradrachm standard. Well-centred and evenly struck, with clear legend and principal devices. Price 1676.

Alexander’s tetradrachms became the dominant international silver currency of the eastern Mediterranean after his conquests, remaining in production for decades after his death under successor administrations and civic authorities. Issues such as this Temnos civic coinage demonstrate the continued use of Alexander’s name and monetary types as a widely trusted standard for trade, military payments, and regional commerce, while reflecting the integration of local mints into the Hellenistic economic system.