This document summarizes Alexander the Great coinage by metal type, denomination, period of production, and region. It shows that silver tetradrachms were the most common type, followed by drachms and fractional coins. Production peaked during Alexander's lifetime from 333-324 BC but continued for over 200 years after in regions including Greece, Macedon, the Black Sea, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. The coinage served both royal propaganda and civic purposes, with types shifting from those meant for Alexander's imperial image during his reign to commemorative and imitative civic issues produced long after his death.

1. What is an Alexander?
Andrew Meadows
New College, Oxford

5. Gold Types
Distater Stater
Hemistater Quarter stater Eighth stater

6. Main Silver Types
10dr 4dr
2dr dr
Hemidr
5 ob 2ob ob Hemiob

7. Hemidrachm
Diobol Obol
Stater
Hekte Hemihekte
1/5 drachm 1/30 drachm
Other Silver Types

8. Bronze Units and Half-units

9. Gold Types
Athena/Nike
Athena/Thunderb
olt
Athena/Bow &
Club
Silver Types
Heracles/Zeus
Heracles/2 eagles
Heracles/Quiver,
bow & club
Heracles/Eagle
AE Unit
Heracles/Quiver,
bow & club
Heracles/Bow,
bowcase & club
Apollo/Youth on
horse
Other
AE Half
Shield/Helmet
Youth/Horse
Heracles/Eagle
Other95%94 %
98% 99%

10. Lifetime
Posthumous

12. Periods of Production
• 333-324: Essentially those coinages deemed by Price to be ‘lifetime’ (on
the low chronology)
• 323-301: The period of the immediate successors to Alexander down just
past the great declarations of kingship to the Battle of Ipsos
• 300-282 From Ipsos to the settlement of the world following the Battle of
Corupedium in 281
• 281-224: From Corupedium to the accession of Antiochus III in the east,
and to just before the outbreak of the Social War in Greece
• 223-191: The reign of Antiochus III to the battle of Magnesia and the
removal of Antiochus from Asia Minor
• 190-126: The post-Apameia period in Asia Minor and the last Alexanders
of the Seleucid kingdom, Macedon and Greece
• 125-70: The continuation of production of the Black Sea mints down to
their closure and the end of Alexander coinage c. 70 BC.

13. Numbers of types by metal by period
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
333-324 323-301 300-282 281-224 223-191 190-126 125-70
AR
AU
AE

14. Types vs. specimens
Type nos. from Price/Pella; hoard figures from Duyrat (2005), Tbl. 10
333-324 (4drs) 4dr. Hoards
Macedon
Greece
Black Sea
W. Asia Minor
S Asia Minor
Cyprus
Syria & Phoenicia
The East
Egypt & Cyrenaica

15. Numbers of types by metal by period
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
333-324 323-301 300-282 281-224 223-191 190-126 125-70
AR
AU
AE

16. Numbers of types by metal
by period/Year
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
333-324 323-301 300-282 281-224 223-191 190-126 125-70
AR
AU
AE
Lifetime Posthumous

17. 333-324 281-224
223-191 190-126 125-70
323-301 300-282
Alexander types by region, by period

18. 0
10
20
30
40
50
Macedon/Yr
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Greece/Yr
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Black Sea/Yr
0
10
20
30
40
W. Asia Minor/Yr
0
2
4
6
8
S Asia Minor/Yr
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Cyprus/Yr
0
5
10
15
20
Syria & Phoenicia/Yr
0
5
10
15
20
The East/Yr
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
Egypt & Cyrenaica/Yr

19. 0
10
20
30
40
50
Macedon/Yr
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Greece/Yr
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Black Sea/Yr
0
10
20
30
40
W. Asia Minor/Yr
0
2
4
6
8
S Asia Minor/Yr
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Cyprus/Yr
0
5
10
15
20
Syria & Phoenicia/Yr
0
5
10
15
20
The East/Yr
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
Egypt & Cyrenaica/Yr

20. Overall denominational split
4drs.
drs.
frs.

21. Denominations by period
4drs. drs.
frs.
333-324
323-301
300-282
281-224
223-191
190-126
125-70

22. Denominations by region
4drs. drs.
frs.

23. Types of Alexander coinage:
Agency and Purpose
Alexanders
Lifetime
Macedonian Imperial
Posthumous
Royal
Continuation Imitative
Civic
Royal civic Civic civic=