Macedonian Kingdom

Sear 6684 var., Le Rider pl. 47, 18 var. (without the I to the right of the Δ).

AR Tetradrachm (23-24 mm.), struck in the name of Philip II (359-336 B.C.) under Cassander (Regent 317-305 B.C.; King 305-297 B.C.) or his sons, Philip IV (297 B.C.) and Alexander V (297-294 B.C.) at Amphipolis, ca. 315-294 B.C. (per Le Rider) or ca. 320-315 B.C. (per Price).

Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right.

Rev: ΦIΛΙΠ-ΠΟΥ above young naked jockey astride racehorse prancing right, carrying long palm frond of victory in right hand and holding reins in left hand; Λ above race-torch below horse; Δ below horse’s foreleg.

Philip II claimed descent from Zeus, and hence adopted the head of Zeus for his obverse. The image is thought to possibly be inspired by the great statue of Zeus by Phidias at Olympia, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The reverse celebrates Philip's victories at the Olympic games, where his racehorses were victorious in the games of 356 B.C. and possibly again in 348 B.C.

Philip adopted the Chalcidian weight standard (c. 14.45 g.) for his tetradrachm, in an effort to replace the Chalcidian League's coinage at that standard after his sacking of Olynthus in Chalcidice in 348 B.C. The expansion of Macedonia under Philip resulted in its coinage overtaking Athenian owls as the leading currency of the Greek world. The type continued to be struck long after the death of Philip. The type was imitated in tribal lands north of Macedonia up to the first century B.C.