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Tetradrachm In the name of Alexander III, Odessos
| Issuer | City of Odessos (Thrace) |
|---|---|
| Year | 90 BC - 80 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | Zeus Aëtophoros enthroned left on a low throne, his body draped, holding an eagle perched on his extended right hand and a long sceptre upright in his left hand. In the left field appears the civic monogram EKA; a star is placed beneath the throne. The ethnic legend ΟΔΗΣΙΤΩΝ is inscribed in the exergue, identifying the issuing city of Odessos, while the royal legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ runs along the right field, reading 'of King Alexander.' |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Odessos, the Greek colony on the western Black Sea coast (modern Varna, Bulgaria), struck posthumous Alexandrine tetradrachms well over two centuries after Alexander's death — a practice that had less to do with reverence than with commercial pragmatism. By the first century BC, these coins functioned as a trusted regional trade currency across Thrace and the Pontic littoral, their Alexander types guaranteeing acceptance in markets that distrusted local civic issues. Price 1197 is among the later Odessian emissions, produced during a period when the city was navigating increasing pressure from both Mithridates VI's expanding Pontic sphere and Roman commercial interests pushing into the Black Sea region.