Lysimachos. 305-281 BC, Tetradrachm

Lysimachos, tetradrachm, AR, 305–281 BC, Sestos mint, 16.71 g, 30 mm. Obverse with diademed head of the deified Alexander III right, wearing the horn of Ammon. Reverse with Athena seated left, holding Nike in right hand and resting left arm on shield; ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ in fields. Well-centred on broad flan with clear principal devices and legible legend. Reference: HGC 3, 1750 corr.

This issue belongs to the posthumous coinage of Alexander type produced under Lysimachos, one of the Diadochoi who ruled Thrace and later parts of Asia Minor after Alexander’s death. By presenting Alexander with divine attributes and associating the reverse with Athena and Victory, the type functioned as a political statement of legitimacy and continuity, while the widespread tetradrachm standard facilitated large-scale payments and regional trade in the Hellespontine and Aegean sphere.