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Tetradrachm - Lysimachos Sardes
| Issuer | Kings of Thrace |
|---|---|
| Year | 305 BC - 281 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Tetradrachm (4) |
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| Obverse description | Diademed head of the deified Alexander III (the Great) facing right, rendered in the Hellenistic portrait tradition with idealized features. A prominent horn of Ammon curls above and over his ear, affirming his divine association with the Egyptian god Zeus-Ammon. The diadem is rendered with fine detail, its ends trailing behind the neck. The portrait displays a naturalistic treatment characteristic of late fourth-century Greek die-cutting, with carefully modeled hair swept back from the forehead. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ |
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| Additional information |
Lysimachos began issuing coinage bearing the deified portrait of Alexander the Great only after 306/305 BC, when rival successors — Antigonus first, then the others — began claiming royal titles. The adoption of Alexander's image was a calculated political maneuver, borrowing dynastic legitimacy from a dead king rather than earning it through lineage. Sardis, as one of the wealthiest mint cities in Asia Minor, had been striking coinage since the Lydian kings and brought considerable production infrastructure to Lysimachos's silver output.
His kingdom collapsed at the Battle of Corupedium in 281 BC, where Lysimachos died fighting Seleucus I — the last of the major Diadochi conflicts.