Alexander III AR Tetradrachm, Babylon, 330–320 BC, Price 3673

Alexander III, tetradrachm, silver, reign 336–323 BC, struck 330–320 BC at Babylon; 17.10 g; 26 mm. Obverse anepigraphic: head of Herakles right wearing the Nemean lion-skin headdress within dotted border. Reverse: BAΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ; Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on backless throne, holding eagle on outstretched right hand and sceptre in left; M control in left field; trident beneath throne; dotted border. Struck on the Attic standard, centered on a broad flan with complete legend and clear controls. Price 3673.

After the capture of Babylon in 331 BC, the mint became a principal source of Attic-standard silver for Alexander’s army finance and Near Eastern administration, and its output formed a major component of regional currency. The Herakles/Zeus type with the genitive legend “of King Alexander” established royal coin imagery later maintained by the Diadochi. The Babylonian control marks, here M and a trident, allow attribution to specific workshops and emissions dated to circa 330–320 BC.