Stater In the name of Alexander III

Sinope's decision to strike gold staters in Alexander's name decades after his death was less a tribute than a practical calculation — the Alexandrine type had become the dominant international trade currency across the Black Sea littoral, and Sinope, as the preeminent emporium on that coast, needed coinage its partners would accept without question. The city had long minted its own silver types but gold was another matter entirely, requiring both the bullion reserves and the political confidence to enter that market.

Issues from this period fall within the turbulent aftermath of the Galatian migrations and Pontic consolidation under Mithridates II, pressures that likely accelerated the decision to adopt a universally recognized monetary form.