Kings of Macedon, Antigonos I in the name of Alex. III. Sardes, AR Tetradrachm.

Antigonos I Monophthalmus (“the One-Eyed”) was one of Alexander the Great’s most ambitious and capable generals. After Alexander’s death in 323 BCE, he emerged as a central figure among the diadochi. Initially, he governed Phrygia, Pamphylia, and Lycia, consolidating his power in Asia Minor. Over time, he expanded his influence into Syria and parts of Anatolia, becoming a dominant Hellenistic ruler.

Antigonos sought to reunite much of Alexander’s empire under his own authority, engaging in a series of wars against the others diarochi, such as Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Lysimachus. His ambitions culminated in the creation of a vast but short-lived domain. In 301 BC, he was decisively defeated and killed at the Battle of Ipsus, which marked a turning point in the Hellenistic period and solidified the partition of Alexander’s empire among the surviving successors. Despite his defeat, his legacy endured through his son, Demetrius I, and the Antigonid dynasty that later ruled Macedonia.

The city that this coin was minted in, Sardes, was the historic capital of the Lydian Empire. It had been under the control of the Achaemenids, having been conqured by Cyrus the Great himself. The city surrendered itself to Alexander in 334 BC, and during the next two centuries, was significantly Hellenized.

This posthumous tetradrachm features the famous Zeus Aëtophoros, or Zeus as the bringer of victory. Note the well-centered strike and toning, along with the significant detail of the obverse and reverse portraiture.