Æ16

Thessaloniki was founded around 315 BC by Cassander, who named the city after his wife — Alexander the Great's half-sister. It rapidly became the dominant commercial hub of Macedonia, and its civic bronze coinage reflects sustained institutional confidence across a politically turbulent two-century span that saw the city pass from Antigonid control into the Roman provincial system after 168 BC. Roman hegemony did not immediately disrupt local bronze issues; municipally struck coinage continued under Roman oversight as a practical concession to regional trade.

BMC Greek 1 anchors the opening of the British Museum's Thessaloniki sequence — a cataloging position that reflects chronological priority rather than rarity.