309-220 BCE
AE 18mm 6.00g
Head of Tyche right
ΛYΣIMAXEΩN, lion sitting right
cf SNG Cop 909
What can you buy that king who just has everything? Well, his own city of course! Back in the day, it was all the rage to create and name a city after yourself. Philip II, Alexander III, and a number of the Diadochi did so. Therefore, in an effort of keeping up with the Jones’, Lysimachos had to have his city.
But where would he build it, and where would he find the people? After all, a city wasn’t a city without people. So, Lysimachos destroyed the city of Kardia and moved its inhabitants to the nearby city of Lysimacheia. There, he built all sorts of wonderful things that no longer exist.
Of course, no one lives forever, and the city bounced around rulers after his death. The Seleukids had it, then the Ptolemies, then the Aetolians, until it was finally destroyed by Thracians. Antigonos II and the Aetolians defeated the Gauls near the city.
The lion on this coin, of course, comes from Lysimachos. There are various stories about the lion, but all depict him defeating one with his bare hands. For this reason, Alexander made him a bodyguard, and Lysimachos kept the image his entire life.