Barbaric Alexander Tetradrachm

Silver tetradrachm, uncertain (tribal?) mint, c. 3rd - 2nd Century B.C.
O: head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin headdress;
R: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on throne without back, nude to the waist, himation around hips and legs, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand, AΛEΞAN∆POY downward on right, wreath to left; X below throne
-cf. Price B36 ff. (barbarous, uncertain prototypes); Obverse die match to CNG E- Auction 190 lot 42

Price (p. 506) notes that the ‘barbarous’ copies of Alexander III tetradrachms differ from contemporary imitations in that they were meant not to defraud but rather to provide coinages for the local economies in areas on the fringes of the classical world.

Many Greek cities across what was once Alexander's empire struck Alexander tetradrachms as civic coinage, even centuries after the death of the great conqueror. Similarly, peoples on the fringes of the Greek world also struck Alexander tetradrachms; sometimes with unusual or bizarre style, and often with illiterate blundered inscriptions. These coins are often described as "barbaric." We can attribute some of these imitative types to specific places or tribes. Other coins, such as this one, are a mystery. - FAC