Seleukos I Nikator, 311-300 BC, Tetradrachm

Seleukos I Nikator, tetradrachm, AR, 311–300 BC, Susa mint, 16.31 g, 26 mm. Obverse with head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress. Reverse with Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on throne, holding eagle and sceptre; legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ AΛEΞANΔΡΟΥ. Struck from the posthumous Alexandrine series issued under Seleukid authority, with well-centered types and clear legend. Price 3857.

This tetradrachm belongs to the posthumous coinage in the name of Alexander III, continued by Seleukos I as he established control in the eastern satrapies after the Wars of the Diadochi. The continuation of Alexandrine types at Susa reflects the administrative and monetary continuity of the former Achaemenid and Macedonian imperial centers, and the use of Alexander’s name and iconography served to support legitimacy and facilitate acceptance of large silver issues across a wide Hellenistic circulation zone.