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Drachm - Lysimachus Ephesus
| Issuer | Lysimachus |
|---|---|
| Year | 294 BC - 287 BC |
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| Currency | Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Diademed head of the deified Alexander the Great facing right, wearing the horn of Ammon curling behind his ear, rendered with finely detailed wavy hair swept back from the forehead. The portrait follows the iconic Lysimachean type, presenting Alexander in three-quarter profile with idealised Hellenistic features. The field is plain, and the coin presents no legend on the obverse. The die work is of high quality, displaying the characteristic artistic style associated with the Ephesian mint. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Athena Nikephoros seated left on a throne, wearing a crested Attic helmet and draped in a chiton and himation, her right hand outstretched to receive a small Nike with spread wings who crowns her. Her left hand rests upon a large round shield leaning against the throne, and a long spear is propped diagonally behind her. The two-line Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ to the right and ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ to the left divides the field on either side of the central figure, with a thunderbolt symbol visible in the left field below the legend. |
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| Additional information |
Lysimachus struck coinage in the name and image of Alexander the Great as a deliberate political statement — positioning himself as the legitimate heir to Alexander's memory at a time when the Diadochi were in constant competition for dynastic credibility. The Ephesus mint was one of several western Anatolian facilities he controlled after consolidating power in Thrace and Asia Minor following the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC.
The narrow date range for this issue reflects the turbulence of Lysimachus's final decade. He was killed at the Battle of Corupedium in 281 BC, and posthumous issues from other mints muddy attribution — making a securely attributed Ephesian piece of this period genuinely useful for chronological study.