MACEDONIAN KINGDOM – Alexander III “the Great” (336–323 BC) – AR Tetradrachm
Posthumous issue of Amphipolis, circa 323–320 BC
Obverse: Heroic head of Herakles right, wearing the lion skin headdress, its paws knotted before his neck. The idealized features echo Alexander’s own visage, projecting his claimed divine lineage and the martial valor of the legendary hero.
Reverse: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ. Zeus enthroned left on a backless seat, his left leg drawn back, feet resting on a dotted ground line. In his outstretched right hand he holds an eagle, emblem of divine kingship; in his left rests a grounded scepter. A crested Pileus helmet appears in the left field, a distinctive control symbol marking this Amphipolis issue.
References: Price 113
Metal: Silver (AR)
Collector’s Note:
This handsome tetradrachm belongs to the first wave of posthumous issues following Alexander’s death in 323 BC — a period marked by uncertainty and fierce competition among his generals for control of the empire. Struck at Amphipolis, one of the principal Macedonian mints, it retains the potent imagery that had served as Alexander’s political hallmark: Herakles as both hero and dynastic ancestor on the obverse, and Zeus, father of gods and men, on the reverse. The crested Pileus helmet control mark provides a tangible link to the mint’s administrative system, allowing precise classification by modern scholarship. These early posthumous issues bridged the gap between Alexander’s lifetime coinage and the new dynasties that would shape the Hellenistic world — making them both historically significant and highly desirable to collectors.
MACEDONIAN KINGDOM – Alexander III “the Great” (336–323 BC) – AR Tetradrachm
Posthumous issue of Amphipolis, circa 323–320 BC
Obverse: Heroic head of Herakles right, wearing the lion skin headdress, its paws knotted before his neck. The idealized features echo Alexander’s own visage, projecting his claimed divine lineage and the martial valor of the legendary hero.
Reverse: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ. Zeus enthroned left on a backless seat, his left leg drawn back, feet resting on a dotted ground line. In his outstretched right hand he holds an eagle, emblem of divine kingship; in his left rests a grounded scepter. A crested Pileus helmet appears in the left field, a distinctive control symbol marking this Amphipolis issue.
References: Price 113
Metal: Silver (AR)
Collector’s Note:
This handsome tetradrachm belongs to the first wave of posthumous issues following Alexander’s death in 323 BC — a period marked by uncertainty and fierce competition among his generals for control of the empire. Struck at Amphipolis, one of the principal Macedonian mints, it retains the potent imagery that had served as Alexander’s political hallmark: Herakles as both hero and dynastic ancestor on the obverse, and Zeus, father of gods and men, on the reverse. The crested Pileus helmet control mark provides a tangible link to the mint’s administrative system, allowing precise classification by modern scholarship. These early posthumous issues bridged the gap between Alexander’s lifetime coinage and the new dynasties that would shape the Hellenistic world — making them both historically significant and highly desirable to collectors.
