Alexander III AR Drachm, Herakles/Zeus, uncertain mint, 336–323 BC

Alexander III (the Great), drachm, silver, 336–323 BC, uncertain mint, 4.25 g, 17 mm. Obv: anepigraphic; head of beardless Herakles right, wearing the lion-skin headdress tied at the neck. Rev: ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ; Zeus seated left on a backless stool-throne, holding eagle on outstretched right hand and sceptre in left; field controls not discernible. Struck on the Attic standard at an uncertain mint, likely a lifetime or early posthumous issue; compact flan with extensive circulation wear, details softened; mint attribution not possible without visible symbols. Cf. Price, Alexander (general Herakles/Zeus drachm type); cf. SNG Copenhagen for parallels; specific catalogue number undetermined.

Alexander’s silver coinage standardized the Attic weight across his empire and served as an international medium of exchange from Greece to the Near East. The Herakles/Zeus design with the genitive legend ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ asserted royal authority while allowing dozens of mints to strike uniform currency that financed the campaigns and later supported the economies of the Successor kingdoms. Drachms of this type circulated for generations, making precise mint and dating dependent on now-lost control marks.