KINGS OF MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’, 336-323 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 33 mm, 16.80 g, 1 h), Perge, circa 221-189. Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress; on ear, countermark: bow in bowcase with [Α]ΠΑ within round incuse. Rev. ΑΛΕΑΝΔΡΟΥ Zeus seated left on throne, holding eagle standing right with closed wings on his right hand and sceptrer in his left; to left, ΚΔ. Price 2938. Some weakness on the reverse from countermarking, otherwise, very fine.

In the 180s BC, several cities using cistophoric coinage started to apply countermarks on posthumous Alexanders and on Attic weight coins from four Pamphylian cities, namely Phaselis, Perge, Aspendos and, most importantly, Side, whose coinage makes up roughly 80% of all countermarked Pamphylian tetradrachms. The so-called ‘cistophoric’ countermarks were applied by no less than eleven cities, sharing a common design flanked with the abbreviated name of the countermarking authority, and were intended to revaluate Attic weight coins to the cistophoric standard. In the case of this piece, the countermark was applied by the city of Apameia.