Stater - Balakros

Balakros served as satrap of Cilicia under Alexander the Great following the decisive Macedonian victory at Issus in 333 BC, replacing the Persian administrative apparatus with a Macedonian one almost overnight. The Cilician mint at Tarsus — already experienced in producing high-quality silver coinage under Persian oversight — continued operating with minimal interruption, now striking in service of Macedonian imperial ambitions rather than Achaemenid ones. Balakros held the satrapy until his death around 323 BC, the same year as Alexander, giving this issue a sharply bounded production window of roughly a decade.

The SNG France 197 variety designation suggests a die difference from the principal recorded type — likely in the ethnic or a minor reverse detail.