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

Alexander III, AR drachm, reign 336–323 BC, uncertain Macedonian mint, struck 336–323 BC or shortly thereafter; 4.27 g, 17 mm. Obverse anepigraphic: head of beardless Herakles right, wearing lion-skin headdress. Reverse: ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ; Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on a backless stool-throne, eagle on outstretched right hand, sceptre in left; control marks not discernible. Struck on the Attic standard; compact, slightly irregular flan; obverse well centered, reverse legend partly off flan with granular surfaces; lifetime or early posthumous issue undetermined. References: cf. Price, Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great (1991), general type; cf. SNG Copenhagen, Macedonia, general type; exact variety not determined due to obscured symbols.

Historical significance: Alexander’s silver Herakles/Zeus coinage established a uniform currency on the Attic standard that financed his campaigns and administration from Greece to the Near East. The Herakles portrait reflected the Argead claim of descent from the hero, while the legend “ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ” asserted royal authority across numerous captured mints. Continued by the Diadochi, these drachms became a principal medium of exchange throughout the Hellenistic world for generations after his death.