Τhis silver coin was recently acquired by the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. For many years it was in the legal possession and ownership of a citizen/collector. When the latter requested for a permission –according to Greek legislation– to export the coin to the USA in order to be auctioned, the Hellenic Ministry of Culture & Sports purchased it, assessing that it is of special archaeological value and in excellent condition.
It is dated in 297-281 BC and was issued in the mint of Lampsacus, an ancient Greek city located on the eastern side of the Hellespont, in the northern Troad.
Obverse: Head of Alexander the Great with a royal diadem and rams’ horns, deified as Ammon-Zeus. Reverse: Athena enthroned, holding a small Nike. In field: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ, herm and monogram.
Lysimachos, one of Alexander the Great's bodyguards and successors, declared himself King of Thrace in 306 BC and gradually extended his dominion to Macedonia and part of Asia Minor. In 297/296 BC he issued a new coin-type, the so-called “lysimachoi”, depicting the head of Alexander the Great deified as Ammon-Zeus on the obverse, and Athena enthroned, holding a small Nike on the reverse. Such coins were minted in several cities of his kingdom; Lampsacus, where this particular coin was manufactured, was the largest mint of Lysimachos in Asia Minor.
The first numismatic representations of Alexander the Great occur after his death on coins issued by his successors, with the most representative example being his portrait on the Lysimachos’ coins: undoubtedly, one of the most impressive and popular effigy of the Macedonian king, which inaugurates portraiture on coins.
Lysimachos, in contrast to other successors, did not depict his own portrait on his coins; his name and title, however, appear on the reverse. The fact that he chose a particularly dynamic and symbolic image of Alexander the Great is not accidental: it is a choice of a purely propagandistic / ideological character, since it promotes Lysimachos' rights to the inheritance of the great ruler and represents a very explicit claim of being a legitimate successor of Alexander.
The silver coin of Lysimachos is presented in the temporary exhibition "new entries / new approaches".
