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Tetradrachm - Lysimachus Alexandreia
| Issuer | Kings of Thrace |
|---|---|
| Year | 297 BC - 281 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Athena Nikephoros seated left on a throne, helmeted and draped, her right hand outstretched to receive a small winged Nike who crowns her with a wreath. Her left arm rests on a large round shield decorated with a facing gorgoneion, and a spear is propped against her left shoulder. The two-line Greek legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ to the right and ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ to the left frames the central type, with the control mark BI appearing in the lower field beneath the throne. The composition closely follows the Lysimachean reverse tradition derived from Alexandrine coinage. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Lysimachus began issuing coins in the name and image of Alexander the Great around 297 BC, a calculated political move to legitimize his rule over a kingdom assembled from the wreckage of the Diadochi wars. He was one of the last surviving generals of Alexander, and invoking his former commander's divine status — Alexander had been recognized as a son of Ammon — was a direct play for authority over rival successors. These tetradrachms circulated widely across Thrace and into Asia Minor, functioning as much as propaganda as currency.
The Meadows "Earliest" classification places this piece among the inaugural issues from the Alexandreia mint, a designation covering only a handful of dies.