Drachm - Lysimachus In the name of Alexander III, Abydus

Lysimachus began striking coins in Alexander's name rather than his own shortly after Ipsus in 301 BC, a calculated political move that kept his territories solvent on the back of Alexander's still-commanding prestige. Abydus, controlling the narrowest crossing of the Hellespont, was strategically indispensable — whoever held it controlled movement between Europe and Asia. The mint's output during these two years was modest, and the Price L20 designation reflects a type not recorded in Müller's corpus at all.