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Stater - Lysimachus In the name of Alexander III, Abydus
| Issuer | Kings of Thrace |
|---|---|
| Year | 301 BC - 299 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Head of Athena facing right, wearing a Corinthian helmet adorned with a prominent crest and a coiled serpent on the bowl, rendered in fine Hellenistic style. The facial features are sharply modeled, with a strong profile characteristic of the Alexander-type coinage. The neck is partially draped, and the helmet's cheekpiece frames the goddess's resolute expression. The field is plain, with no legend on the obverse, following the standard Alexander stater typology. |
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| Reverse description | Nike, the winged goddess of Victory, stands facing left in three-quarter view, her large open wings spread dramatically behind her. She holds a wreath extended in her right hand and a stylis (ship's stern ornament) in her left, her drapery billowing around her legs in dynamic Hellenistic fashion. The Greek legend ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ runs vertically along the right field. To the left field appear control marks characteristic of the Abydus mint. The composition follows the canonical Alexander gold stater reverse type perpetuated by the Diadochi. |
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| Additional information |
Lysimachus began striking gold staters in Alexander's name — rather than his own — as a deliberate political strategy after Ipsus in 301 BC, when the fragmentation of the Macedonian successor kingdoms made legitimacy through Alexander's image more valuable than asserting an independent royal identity. Abydus, controlling the Hellespont crossing, was a strategically vital mint; whoever held it commanded the strait between Europe and Asia.
Price 1583 is a recognized variety within the broader posthumous Alexander series. The Abydus attribution rests primarily on stylistic die analysis rather than explicit mint marks.