Philip III Arrhidaeus, tetradrachm, silver, reign 323-317 BC, minted

Philip III Arrhidaeus, tetradrachm, silver, reign 323-317 BC, minted 323-317 BC, weight 17.10 g, diameter 26 mm. Obverse: head of beardless Heracles right wearing lion-skin headdress; legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ surrounding. Reverse: Zeus seated left on a backless throne, holding eagle on outstretched right hand and sceptre in left; no additional control marks; legend in left field. Strike: hammered, centered, moderate relief. Toning: natural medium-grey silver with lighter high points. References: Price P202; attributed to Babylon mint; extremely rare. Issued immediately after the death of Alexander III, this tetradrachm was struck at the Babylon mint under the authority of Philip III Arrhidaeus, Alexander’s half-brother who reigned as a figurehead while power was exercised by the Diadochi. The coinage continues the iconographic types introduced by Alexander, depicting Heracles on the obverse and Zeus on the reverse, to maintain monetary and political continuity within the empire’s territories. Silver tetradrachms of this series financed troop payments and administrative expenses during the early Wars of the Successors. The Babylon issues are among the earliest post-Alexander emissions and are scarcer than contemporary Alexandrine coinage from other mints.