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Æ - Alexander III
| Issuer | Kingdom of Macedonia |
|---|---|
| Year | 336 BC - 323 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Youthful head of Heracles facing right, depicted without beard and wearing the Nemean lion skin headdress, with the scalp and paws rendered in fine detail. The portrait is executed in the Hellenistic style characteristic of Macedonian royal coinage, with carefully modeled facial features including a straight nose and slightly parted lips. The lion skin covers the crown of the head, with the muzzle visible above and the forepaws knotted at the neck. The flan is slightly irregular, as typical of hammered bronze issues of this period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Alexander III's bronze coinage was struck across a sprawling network of mints stretching from Macedonia to Babylon, many operating simultaneously during his campaigns. Unlike his silver issues, which were tightly controlled instruments of military pay, the bronzes functioned as fractional small change — funding local markets, garrison supplies, and the daily transactions of a mobile army covering thousands of miles. Price 293 specifically has been attributed to a Macedonian or northern Greek mint, though the attribution remains debated among specialists.
Alexander died in Babylon in June 323 BC, almost certainly before this issue ceased production. His successors continued striking identical types for years afterward.