Successors Of Alexander III

You picked an interesting area to pursue, there is a wide range of coin types to keep you busy for some time. I've thought about collecting one coin of each monogram from this series until I realized the the cost would be too much and I'm too poor.

Ptolemaic Kingdom, Ptolemy I Soter, Silver Tetradrachm
Obv:â€" Diademed head of Ptolemy I right wearing aegis
Rev:â€" ΠΤΟΛΕΜÎ'ΙΟΥ Î'Î'ΣΙΛΕΩΣ, Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, monogram left
Minted in Alexandria, B.C. 294
Reference:â€" Svoronos 236, SNG Cop 75
14.379g, 29.9mm, 0o

The following notes were provided by the dealer in their catalog description.
"Struck on a briefly used standard of 21-attic obols. Broad flan. Overstruck over an Alexander tetradrachm, which had a banker's mark. Undertype visible at 4:00 on obverse. Minor chip. Rare overstrike!"

The coin has the signature of the Delta artist behind the ear (between the ear and the first curl near the neck). This artist was a master craftsman and was responsible for some coins of high artistry at Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I (possibly into the early reign of Ptolemy II) and produced from quite early in the reign, including one of the iconic elephant's skin headdress tetradrachm.

One of my favorites:

Lysimachus. 305-281 BC. AR
Tetradrachm (16.24 gm, 29mm). Abydos mint. Struck
early-mid 3rd century BC. Diademed head of the
deified Alexander right / Athena Nikephoros seated
left; to inner left, eagle standing right.

Lysimachus 360 BC - - " 281 BC) was a Macedonian officer and diadochus (successor) of Alexander the Great, who became a King in 306 BC, ruling Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon.