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Tetradrachm - Audoleon In the name of Alexander III, Astibos or Damastion
| Issuer | Kings of Paeonia |
|---|---|
| Year | 300 BC - 286 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 17.15 g |
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| Obverse description | Youthful beardless head of Heracles facing right, depicted in three-quarter relief with strongly modelled features, enveloped in the scalp of the Nemean lion whose forelegs are knotted at the throat. The mane and pelt of the lion skin spread naturalistically around the neck and shoulders, rendered with fine engraved detail. The portrait exhibits the characteristic Lysippan-influenced style associated with Alexander III coinage, enclosed within a beaded border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ |
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| Additional information |
Audoleon was the last significant Paeonian king, ruling a territory wedged between Macedon, Thrace, and the Illyrian tribes — a position that demanded constant diplomatic maneuvering. Striking tetradrachms in the name of Alexander III decades after that king's death was a deliberate political posture, not a clerical habit. It aligned Paeonia with Macedonian legitimacy at a moment when the Diadochi were still carving up Alexander's empire and smaller kingdoms needed powerful shadows to stand under.
The mint attribution to either Astibos or Damastion remains unresolved in the literature. Price 651 places the issue within a tightly defined group, but the exact facility has not been pinned down with die-link certainty.