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Tetradrachm In the name of Alexander III, Cyme
| Issuer | Kingdom of Macedonia |
|---|---|
| Year | 215 BC - 200 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 16.77 g |
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| Obverse description | Youthful, beardless head of Heracles facing right, wearing the lion skin headdress with the scalp knotted at the throat, the mane rendered in flowing locks about the neck. The facial features display the idealized Hellenistic portrait style associated with Alexander III, with a strong profile, prominent brow, and finely modeled curling hair visible beneath the lion scalp. The pelt of the lion's muzzle is depicted atop the head, with the open jaws forming the headdress. The field is otherwise plain, with no legend on the obverse. |
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| Reverse description | Zeus Aëtophoros enthroned left on a low stool-throne, his body draped, holding an eagle perched on his outstretched right hand and a long sceptre in his left hand. In the left field, a single-handled oinochoe (jug) appears above a monogram, serving as mint control symbols attributable to the Cyme mint. The ethnic legend ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ runs along the right field, identifying the issue as struck in the name of Alexander. The composition is executed in the canonical style of the Alexandrine tetradrachm series. |
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| Additional information |
Cyme, one of the oldest Greek settlements on the Aeolian coast of Asia Minor, struck Alexander-type tetradrachms well into the late 3rd century BC — decades after Alexander's death in 323 — as the type had become effectively a trade currency across the eastern Mediterranean. By this period, the issues from Cyme and its Aeolian neighbors were operating under Seleucid influence, and the specific civic magistrate responsible for this emission is recorded in Price's corpus by the control marks rather than any inscription.
Price 1619 places this emission firmly in the late posthumous series. The Cymaean mint was intermittently active, and its Alexander issues are not prolific survivors.