Tetradrachm

Caria occupied an awkward political position in the mid-fourth century: nominally an Achaemenid satrapy, yet governed by the Hecatomnid dynasty with a degree of autonomy that made its coinage policy effectively independent. The satrap Mausolus — whose tomb gave us the word "mausoleum" — aggressively expanded Carian influence across the Aegean during the 360s and 350s, and the tetradrachm series from this period reflects a local mint operating with Persian tolerance rather than Persian direction.

The weight standard here follows Rhodian or "light Chian" conventions rather than Attic, a deliberate choice that facilitated trade with Aegean island networks under Hecatomnid influence.