Alexander III AR Tetradrachm, Babylon Mint, 325–323 BC, Posthumous

Alexander III, tetradrachm, silver, reign 336–323 BC, Babylon mint, struck 325–323 BC, 17.10 g, 26 mm. Anepigraphic obverse with head of Herakles right, wearing the lion-skin headdress. Reverse with BAΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ; Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on a backless throne, eagle on outstretched right hand, long sceptre in left. Posthumous Babylon issue on the Attic standard; dies cut in the characteristic local style for this late series. Reference: Price 3756.

Struck at Babylon, the principal imperial mint at the time of Alexander’s death, this posthumous tetradrachm continued the king’s monetary system for paying troops and stabilizing administration during the early Diadochoi period. The Herakles and Zeus types promoted a pan-Hellenic message while the legend “of King Alexander” legitimized authority after his death. Babylon issues were among the most widely circulating pieces in the eastern empire, helping establish the Alexandrine tetradrachm as the standard trade currency for subsequent Hellenistic kingdoms.