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Tetradrachm - Lysimachus Amphipolis
| Issuer | Kings of Thrace |
|---|---|
| Year | 288 BC - 281 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Diademed and heroic effigy of the deified Alexander the Great facing right, rendered in high relief with finely engraved flowing locks of hair. A small curling horn of Ammon emerges just above the ear, signifying Alexander's divine association with the Egyptian god Zeus-Ammon. The portraiture reflects the idealized Hellenistic style, with strong facial features, a slightly open mouth, and a dotted border encircling the field. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Lysimachus struck these tetradrachms from Amphipolis — a Macedonian mint of considerable output — during the final decade of his reign, when he controlled Macedonia following the defeat of Pyrrhus in 288 BC. The coins were explicitly political instruments: by adopting the deified image of Alexander the Great, Lysimachus was pressing a legitimacy claim, positioning himself as the rightful heir to Macedonian authority against rivals Seleucus and Demetrius Poliorcetes. He would be killed at the Battle of Corupedium in 281 BC, the last of the major Successors to fall.
Posthumous issues using identical types continued well into the 2nd century BC, complicating attribution — but lifetime Amphipolis strikes are distinguishable by specific magistrate monograms recorded under Thompson's classification.