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Tetradrachm In the name of Alexander III, Odessos, ΔH
| Issuer | Odessos |
|---|---|
| Year | 125 BC - 70 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Youthful head of Herakles facing right, wearing the Nemean lion-skin headdress with the scalp and mane rendered in high relief, the forepaws knotted at the throat. The facial features display the idealized Hellenistic style typical of late posthumous Alexandrine coinage, with a prominent brow, well-defined nose, and fleshy lips. The lion's pelt is elaborately detailed, with the jaws surmounting the hero's head and the mane cascading around the neck and shoulder. A beaded border frames the design on the coin's periphery. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Zeus Aëtophoros enthroned to left, his draped figure rendered in the canonical Alexandrine type; he holds an eagle (aetos) perched on his extended right hand and grasps a long sceptre in his left. The legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ appears vertically to the right of the throne and ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ vertically to the left, identifying the issue as struck in the name of King Alexander. The control mark ΔH is placed in the inner left field, with a monogram positioned beneath the throne. The overall style reflects the late Hellenistic workshop tradition of Odessos on the Black Sea coast. |
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| Additional information |
Odessos — modern Varna on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast — was a Milesian colony that continued striking Alexander-type tetradrachms well into the first century BC, long after the Macedonian kingdom itself had ceased to exist. These posthumous issues were commercial currency, not dynastic statements, produced to satisfy trade demand in a region where the Alexander type had become effectively a currency standard. The magistrate's monogram ΔH places this piece within a specific administrative sequence documented by Kostial's die study.