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Stater In the name of Alexander III, Sinope
| Issuer | Kingdom of Macedonia |
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| Year | 230 BC - 200 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Helmeted head of Athena facing right, portrayed in fine Hellenistic style with finely rendered facial features and flowing locks of hair cascading beneath the helmet. The goddess wears a crested Corinthian helmet pushed back on the head, the bowl decorated with a coiled serpent on the bowl and fitted with a prominent upswept cheekpiece. The hair falls in elegant curls and waves along the neck and behind the ear, reflecting the refined die-engraving characteristic of posthumous Alexandrine issues. The portrait fills the broad, slightly irregular flan with commanding presence. |
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| Reverse description | Nike, the goddess of victory, stands facing left in a long chiton, extending a laurel wreath forward in her right hand and holding a stylis (naval sceptre or ship's stern ornament) in her left. The figure is rendered in graceful Hellenistic style with drapery falling in naturalistic folds. The legend ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ runs along the right field. In the left field, a cantharus (two-handled drinking cup) appears above a monogram, serving as mint control marks identifying the Sinope issue. The composition is well-centered and characteristic of posthumous staters struck in the name of Alexander III. |
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| Additional information |
By the time these staters were struck at Sinope, Alexander himself had been dead for nearly a century. The city, a major Black Sea port with its own strong coinage tradition, continued producing Alexander-type gold well into the early second century under the Successors' shadow — not from loyalty to any Macedonian king, but because the Alexander stater had become the dominant trade currency across the eastern Mediterranean and Pontic regions. Sinope's mint was pragmatic above all else.
Price 1218 is attributable by its specific die combination and control marks.