When one thinks of high artistic style on ancient Greek coins, the Southern Italian and Sicilian issues of the 5th century BC often come to mind first. But the magnificent portraits of the Hellenistic period are also strong contenders, and perhaps none more so than the tetradrachms of Lysimachus that feature a true portrait of Alexander the Great. Often struck in high relief and from dies of remarkably advanced style, they are among the most popular tetradrachms of the Hellenistic Age.

Lifetime tetradrachm of Lysimachus minted in Lampsacus, Thrace. Sold by Miller Ancients for $4,000 in May 2024; graded AU 5/5 – 4/5, Fine Style by NGC.
 
Lysimachus was a Macedonian nobleman with a typical family relationship to the royal dynasty; his father was a friend of Philip II, and he was a close companion of Alexander, serving as one of his immediate bodyguards on the Persian and Indian campaigns. While friends, Lysimachus and Alexander enjoyed a less warm relationship than the king had with other Macedonian nobles. Pausanias, writing several centuries later, recounts a story in which an angered Alexander threw Lysimachus in a chamber with a lion after an argument, but Lysimachus killed the lion and earned back Alexander’s respect.
 
After Alexander’s death Lysimachus played the power games among Alexander’s generals exceedingly well. When the dust had settled after the decisive battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, Lysimachus was on the winning side, as his forces allied with Seleucus and Cassander to kill their 81-year old rival Antigonus. He carved out a prosperous Aegean-centered territory for himself, including all of Thrace in Europe and a majority of Asia Minor – the western half along the Aegean and the northern coast along the Black Sea. Unlike the Seleucids in Asia or the Ptolemies in Egypt, however, Lysimachus’ state could not outlive him, as none of his sons became major rulers and his lands were gradually absorbed by the Seleucids and the budding new state of Pergamum.