Alexander III AR Drachm, Kolophon, 336-323 BC, Heracles/Zeus, Price 1828

Alexander III, drachm, silver, reign 336–323 BC, struck at Kolophon 336–323 BC, 4.25 g, 17 mm. Anepigraphic obverse with head of beardless Heracles right wearing the lion-skin headdress, scalp tied at the neck. Reverse with legend ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ; Zeus seated left on a backless stool-throne, eagle on outstretched right hand, sceptre in left; control mark Φ in left field, monogram beneath the throne. Struck on a compact flan with slight off-centering; obverse flan crack and granular surface deposits present. Price 1828.

This Alexander-type drachm belongs to the Macedonian imperial coinage that standardized Attic-weight silver across the eastern Mediterranean. Kolophon in Ionia served as one of the coastal mints supplying this currency during Alexander’s rule, facilitating payments to garrisons and regional commerce. The Heracles obverse and Zeus reverse link the royal authority to divine patrons and became the dominant design for Hellenistic silver, remaining in circulation for decades after Alexander’s death.