Alexander III AR Tetradrachm, Myriandrus, 325–323 BC, Price 3222

Alexander III, tetradrachm, silver; reign 336–323 BC; struck 325–323 BC; 17.10 g; 26 mm. Myriandrus mint. Anepigraphic obverse with head of Herakles right, wearing the lion-skin headdress. Reverse with legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ; Zeus enthroned left, holding eagle on extended right hand and resting left on scepter; ΩΚΗ monogram in left field; MI monogram below throne; ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ largely off flan. Struck on an ample flan with peripheral weakness and slight reverse off-centering; monograms clear. Price 3222. This late lifetime issue from Myriandrus in Cilicia reflects Alexander’s standardized Attic-weight silver coinage that financed garrisons and administration in the newly conquered Near East. The Herakles type linked the king to the Argead heroic ancestor, while Zeus Aëtophoros signaled royal authority. Myriandrus, near the battlefield of Issus, served as a coastal mint supporting operations and trade during the final years of Alexander’s reign. Likely ancient imitation.