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Tetradrachm - Philip III In the name of Alexander III, Tarsos
| Issuer | Kingdom of Macedonia |
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| Year | 323 BC - 317 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Head of the deified Herakles facing right, wearing the Nemean lion scalp headdress, the creature's paws knotted at the throat. The portrait, rendered in high relief with fine detail in the flowing mane and facial features, is conventionally understood as an idealized likeness of Alexander the Great. The field is plain, with no legend, consistent with the Alexandrine coinage tradition. The coin displays attractive iridescent toning over well-struck silver. |
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| Reverse description | Zeus Aetophoros enthroned left on a high-backed throne, his upper body nude, a himation draped across his lap and lower limbs. His extended right hand holds an eagle with spread wings, while his left hand rests upon a long scepter. In the left field, a caduceus symbol appears above a Theta (Θ) control mark. In the lower field below the throne, the letters ΛΘ are visible as a secondary control or mint mark. The inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ arcs above along the upper right field, with ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ running vertically down the right field, together reading 'of King Alexander.' The composition closely follows the canonical Alexandrine reverse type as struck at the Tarsos mint. |
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Struck at Tarsos in the name of Alexander the Great but issued under Philip III Arrhidaios — Alexander's half-brother, a man of limited cognitive capacity installed as king largely to satisfy Macedonian troops who refused to accept a half-Bactrian infant as sole heir. The Tarsos mint had been producing Alexandrine types since the campaign pushed through Cilicia, and it simply continued under the new authority without interruption, the dies changing only in administrative detail.
Price 3052 places this among the transitional issues of 323–317 BC, a window closed by Philip III's murder on Olympias's orders in October 317.