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Drachm - Lysimachos type of Alexander the Great
| Issuer | Kings of Thrace |
|---|---|
| Year | 301 BC - 297 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Head of Herakles facing right, wearing the Nemean lion scalp headdress, the lion's jaw open above the brow and its paws knotted at the neck. The portrait is rendered in fine Hellenistic style with carefully delineated curling locks visible beneath the scalp. The flan is slightly irregular but the central design is well centered and in high relief. No legend appears on the obverse, consistent with Alexander-type coinage. |
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| Mint | Lampsacus Mint |
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| Additional information |
Lysimachos seized control of Thrace after the fragmentation of Alexander's empire, but lacked the dynastic legitimacy of a Macedonian heir. Issuing coinage in Alexander's name — rather than his own — was a calculated political move, one he eventually abandoned when he began striking coins bearing his own portrait after 297 BC. This drachm belongs to that transitional window, minted from the Lysimacheia or Lampsakos workshops during years when Lysimachos was consolidating power while simultaneously fighting off Antigonos Monophthalmos at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, which effectively ended the Wars of the Diadochi.