Tetradrachm

Caria's position as a semi-autonomous satrapy under Achaemenid Persian rule produced a monetary culture that was genuinely hybrid — local dynasts retained the right to strike silver coinage, a privilege most Persian-controlled territories never received. The coins functioned across Aegean trade networks rather than serving purely administrative Persian purposes, which is precisely why they were struck to a Greek weight standard rather than the Persian siglos system.

The dynasty most associated with this series culminates with Pixodarus, whose death in 341 BC effectively ends the independent coinage. Hecatomnus and his successors — including the Mausolus for whom the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was built — are the figures behind the broader run of this type.