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Stater - Demetrius I Poliorcetes In the name of Alexander III, Salamis
| Issuer | Kingdom of Macedonia |
|---|---|
| Year | 306 BC - 301 BC |
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| Currency | Attic drachm |
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| Obverse description | Helmeted head of Athena facing right, rendered in high relief in the Hellenistic style. The goddess wears a crested Corinthian helmet pushed back on the head, its bowl elaborately decorated with a coiled serpent along the cheek-guard and a prominent forward-projecting visor. Flowing hair escapes beneath the helmet bowl and cascades over the neck. The portrait is finely engraved, with naturalistic facial features characteristic of the late fourth-century Macedonian die-cutting tradition. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ |
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| Additional information |
Demetrius I earned his epithet "Poliorcetes" — the Besieger — at the siege of Salamis in Cyprus in 306 BC, where he destroyed Ptolemy's fleet and captured the island. His father Antigonus promptly claimed the title of king, and Demetrius followed suit. These staters, struck at the Salamis mint in Alexander's name, were almost certainly produced to pay the victorious army; issuing gold in a dead king's name was a deliberate political statement about dynastic legitimacy during the Wars of the Diadochi.