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Tetradrachm In the name of Alexander III, Babylon
| Issuer | Kingdom of Macedonia |
|---|---|
| Year | 323 BC - 317 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Price#3692 |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Zeus Aëtophoros enthroned left on a backless throne, his body shown in three-quarter view; he holds a long scepter upright in his raised left hand and extends his right hand forward bearing an eagle with closed wings. The legend AΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ runs in two lines framing the field, with the control mark M in the left field and the secondary control ΛΥ inscribed beneath the throne. The composition is characteristic of the canonical Alexandrine reverse type as struck at the Babylon mint during the early Diadoch period. |
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| Reverse lettering | AΛEΞANΔΡOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ M ΛΥ (Translation: King Alexander (III, the Great)) |
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| Additional information |
Babylon was one of Alexander's primary minting centers during his lifetime and continued striking in his name immediately after his death in June 323 BC. The years covered by this issue coincide almost exactly with the chaos of the First Diadoch War — the opening struggle among his successors — during which Babylon passed between the control of Perdiccas, then Antipater, and ultimately Seleucus. Coins continued to flow from the mint regardless of who held the city, partly because paying troops could not wait for political settlements.
Price 3692 is attributable to the post-Alexander Babylon sequence through specific die linkage studies conducted by Martin Price in his 1991 corpus.