Alexander The Great Silver Drachm VF

Alexander III, King of Macedon - better known as Alexander the Great - is considered by many historians to be the greatest military commander of all time.

Ascending to the throne of Macedonia at the young age of twenty, Alexander spent most of his ruling years campaigning through the vast regions of Asia and northeast Africa. By the age of thirty, he earned the title “the Great” and had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to northwestern India. His untimely death in June, 323 B.C. is likely the only thing that stopped further conquests.

While many different coins were struck for Alexander the Great, the three main precious metal denominations were Silver Drachms, Silver Tetradrachms, and Gold Staters. These coins were all heavily produced under his reign, but what made these coins so numerous were his Diadochi – historical figures close to Alexander the Great in life, who carved their own kingdoms out of Alexander’s territories after his death. They continued to strike Alexander III-type coins posthumously out of their own, smaller kingdoms, creating millions of coins nearly identical to those he had issued.

The Silver Drachm carried the same design as the Tetradrachm on most of its issues, displaying the same symbols honoring the gods. Not as many cities struck these smaller silver coins as did the Tetradrachms, which resulted in fewer varieties. 
 

Alexander’s Drachms conformed to the same Attic weight standard as the Silver Tetradrachms - each struck out of approximately 4.3g of silver. Also, like the Tetradrachm, size and weight would vary depending on when they were struck and who issued them. The approximate diameter of these silver coins is between that of a U.S. dime and a nickel.