Tetradrachm In the name of Alexander III

This issue belongs to the earliest phase of Ptolemaic coinage, struck when Ptolemy I was still ruling Egypt as satrap under the nominal authority of Alexander's successors — before he declared himself king in 305 BC. Minting under Alexander's name was politically necessary: claiming independent coinage too soon would have invited conflict with the other Diadochi at a moment when Ptolemy's hold on Egypt was still being consolidated through the First and Second Wars of the Diadochi.

The Lorber 1.1 classification places this among the foundational issues of the entire Ptolemaic series. SNG Copenhagen 14 provides the primary comparative reference for die alignment and style attribution.