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Tetradrachm In the name of Alexander III, Odessos, ΞEN
| Issuer | Odessos |
|---|---|
| Year | 80 BC - 70 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Tetradrachm (4) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Diademed head of the deified Alexander III (the Great) facing right, depicted in the Hellenistic tradition with flowing hair and the royal diadem tied at the back. The portrait displays the characteristic upward gaze and slightly parted lips associated with Alexander's idealized heroic imagery. The style reflects the later posthumous coinage tradition of the Black Sea region, with somewhat broader facial features typical of Odessos mint workmanship. No legend appears on the obverse field. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (80 BC - 70 BC) |
| Additional information |
Odessos, a Greek colony on the Black Sea coast of modern Bulgaria, continued striking Alexander-type tetradrachms well into the first century BC — long after the Macedonian kingdom had collapsed. These posthumous issues were a matter of commercial necessity: the Alexander tetradrachm remained the dominant trade currency across the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea littoral, and local economies depended on its continued availability regardless of who was actually minting it. The magistrate's name ΞEN visible in the control marks ties this piece to a specific issuing official, one of the few anchors for die-sequence studies in this otherwise difficult series.