Lysimachos. 305-281 BC, Tetradrachm

Lysimachos, tetradrachm, AR, 305–281 BC, uncertain mint, c. 305–281 BC, 16.84 g, 30 mm. Obverse with the diademed head of the deified Alexander III right, wearing the horn of Ammon. Reverse with Athena enthroned left, holding Nike and resting her arm on a shield, with ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ in the fields; additional control marks as struck for the issue. Well-centered example with clear legends and devices; light cabinet toning. Müller 481 var. Rare.

This tetradrachm belongs to the posthumous Alexander-type coinage of Lysimachos, one of the Diadochoi who established royal authority after the fragmentation of Alexander’s empire. The deified portrait of Alexander with the Ammon horn reflects the ruler cult and political legitimacy adopted by successor kings, while the reverse legend names Lysimachos as basileus, documenting the transition from satrapal governance to independent kingship in the early Hellenistic period and the broad circulation of this coinage across the Aegean and western Asia Minor.