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Tetradrachm - Antiphon In the name of Alexander III
| Issuer | Chios (Ionia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 190 BC - 165 BC |
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| Currency | Attic drachm |
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| Obverse description | Youthful, beardless head of Heracles facing right, wearing the scalp of the Nemean lion as a headdress, with the beast's jaws atop the crown and the pelt draped about the neck. The portrait, evoking the heroic lineage of Alexander the Great, is rendered in the classical Lysippan tradition, with strong facial modelling and naturalistic detail. A fine beaded border frames the type at the upper periphery of the flan. |
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| Reverse description | Zeus Aetophoros enthroned left on a low stool-throne, his right hand extended forward bearing an eagle and his left hand grasping a long upright sceptre. In the left field, the letters ΠO appear above a sphinx seated left upon a horizontal amphora, serving as a civic badge of Chios. The magistrate's name ΑΝΤΙΦΩΝ is inscribed in the exergue. The Greek legend ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ runs along the right field, identifying the issue as struck in the name of Alexander III the Great. |
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| Additional information |
Posthumous Alexanders struck at Chios belong to a phase when the island was navigating the shifting dominance of Rhodes and Rome in the eastern Aegean. The magistrate name Antiphon appears on a small cluster of dies, and the Chian series as a whole is notable for its relatively careful die-cutting compared to many provincial posthumous issues — the city had commercial incentives to maintain a recognizable and trusted currency for Aegean trade.
Price's cataloguing separates the Chian posthumous issues across multiple die pairings; the two entries covering Antiphon suggest at least modest output, though surviving examples remain scarce in the market.