Silver Tetradrachm
ca. 324 BC
Alexander the Great, Babylon mint
29-126-469
Head of Alexander-Heracles in a lionskin helmet. The first coins portraying Greeks, whether living or dead, developed only after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC His own coin portraits are therefore posthumous; the coins struck for Alexander during his lifetime in which his features are merged with those of his ancestral hero Heracles cannot be counted as true portraits.
Dia. 25.0 mm. Photo courtesy Registrar's Office, University of Pennsylvania Museum.

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