Alexander III AR Tetradrachm, Herakles/Zeus, c. 323–280 BC

Alexander III or successors, Tetradrachm, Silver, reign of Alexander 336–323 BC; issue date uncertain (late 4th–early 3rd century BC), 17.10 g, 26 mm. Anepigraphic obverse with head of Herakles right, wearing the lion-skin headdress. Reverse with Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on a backless throne, holding eagle in right hand and scepter in left; legend and control marks largely obliterated; mint uncertain. Struck on a compact flan with heavy circulation wear; details weak, particularly on the reverse; die axis approx. 12h. Comparable general type: cf. Price, The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great; cf. Müller, Alexandre; cf. SNG ANS Macedonian series (exact variety not attributable due to wear).

This type represents the standard silver trade coinage of the late Classical and early Hellenistic world. Tetradrachms in the name of Alexander, showing Herakles and Zeus, were issued at numerous mints across his empire and continued posthumously under the Diadochi, facilitating military payments and long-distance commerce from the Balkans to the Near East. The iconography linked the ruling authority to Herakles and to Zeus’s favor, while the uniform design allowed the series to function as a widely accepted international currency for generations.