This Georgian imitation coin is proof of the long distance trade and economic ties which bound even the very farthest boarders of the Hellenistic world together. The eastern Kingdom of Colchis was located on the eastern shores of the Black Sea from the early 13th century BC until it was finally disbanded by the Romans in 131 AD.

As with Thracian imitations of Thasos tetradrachm, these small electrum staters, also called “Colchian tetri”, can be traced directly back to the staters of either Alexander the Great or Lysimachus depending on where they are found. Those found in the western regions of the Modern Georgia are traced back to the staters of Lysimachus, and those from the east are generally thought to be imitations of Alexander the Great. All of these coins are however mostly identifiable by the abstract depiction of the deified Alexander. On the later, more abstract types, the reverse is barely recognizable as Athena Pallas either standing or enthroned.

These were thought to have been issued from the early 2nd century BC to the late 1st century BC, as the ready supply of Macedonian gold began drying up resulting in a long term localized economic crisis. Therefore, it is thought that these coins were mainly minted in Colchis, and not the neighboring Iberia.