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Home > Members' Coin Collection Galleries > Stkp > ANCIENT GREEK: Silver

Celtic_tetradrachm.jpg
Celtic, North-Carpathian Region, likely the Costoboci tribe. Imitating type of Philip II of MacedonCCCBM I 78–9; Göbl, OTA 326; Sammlung Lanz 666-8

AR tetradrachm, Schnabelpferd (beak horse) type; struck in the North-Carpathian region, likely by the Costoboci tribe in the second century B.C.; 8.29 g., 21.2 mm. max., 270°

Obv: Stylized head of Zeus facing right

Rev: Stylized horse facing left, the horseman has become a curvilinear line with pellets
Stkp
GRK_Achaean_League_Elis_hemidrachm.JPG
Achaean League, Elis.Sear 2993 var., BMC Peloponnesus p. 4.

AR hemidrachm, 13-13.5 mm, circa 196 - 146 B.C.

Obv: laureate head of Zeus facing right.

Rev: AX monogram in laurel wreath, F - A at sides, CΩ/CIAC below.

The period of mintage begins with the Roman general, T. Quinctius Flamininus' proclamation of the "Freedom of Greece" in 196 B.C. and ends with the destruction of the League and the sack of Corinth by the Romans in 146 B.C. During this short period the league was the dominant state in Greece.
Stkp
GRK_Alexander_Tet_Price_3602_(CNG).jpg
Macedonian KingdomSear 6713-20 var; Price 3602; Newell __, Group 2; Müller 671.

AR tetradrachm (17.10 gr., 25 mm.), struck by Alexander III the Great (336-323 B.C.E.) at Babylon ca. 325-323 B.C.E. (his last lifetime issue).

Obv: Head of beardless Herakles facing right, wearing Nemian lion’s skin headdress.

Rev: Zeus seated left (on throne with back, his legs parallel, feet on stool), holding eagle and scepter, M to left, ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ to right, monogram beneath thrown.

Alexander adopted the Attic weight standard for his silver coinage.

Note on Characteristics of Newell Group 2: The coins carry the letter M as the magistrate’s mark together with this monogram or an M with both this monogram and a symbol (33 are known). The legs of Zeus are parallel. The legend is ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, and then ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ. The dies are not necessarily aligned at 0-degrees (as in Group 1). There are 77 obverse dies. Price (1991) wrote that “this group of issues, with its closely knit interlocking of obverse dies, has every aspect of a large-scale production over a relatively short period of time.” Le Rider (1991) suggested that Groups 1 and 2 were issued in parallel with one-another, essentially in different workshops.

Note on Mint Attribution: Imhoof-Blumer (1895) noted that the M-ΛY on lion tetradrachms issued by Mazaeus as satrap of Alexander at Babylon (331-328 B.C.E.) also appear on Newell’s Group 3 tetradrachms. Newell (1923) concluded that, since his Groups 1-3 tetradrachms form an ensemble, they were all issued in Babylon. Price (1991) questioned but did not depart from this attribution. LeRider (2007) agrees with this attribution, adding that eight of the nine symbols that appear with the Γ on certain lion tetradrachms also appear on Newell’s Groups 1-2 tetradrachms.

Note on Dating: Newell Group 2 is dated to 329-324/3 B.C.E., per Newell (1923); to 329/8-23/2 B.C.E., per Waggoner (in Mørkholm (1979)); to 325-323 B.C.E., per Price (1991); and to 324/3-322/1 B.C.E., per LeRider (2007), with the posthumous issues within the group including ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ in the legend. This coin was Alexander’s last lifetime issue.
2 commentsStkp
GRK_Apollonia_Ceka_115.JPG
Illyria, Apollonia Sear 1878, BMC 14, Ceka 115

AR Drachm (16 mm.), struck after 208-48 B.C. (Petrányi relative year -4), Class 2c2b (being the latest period of the coinage).

Obv: Cow standing left, looking back at calf, which it suckles, [TI]MHN (= Timen, the moneyer) above, ΓΚΠΑ; monogram in exergue, all within linear border.

Rev: ΑΠOΛ above square with concave sides containing one separation line and vertically-oriented petal-shaped rays, ΔΑΜΟ-ΦΩΝ-ΤΟΣ (= Demophon, the magistrate); around square in three parts clockwise, all within a linear border.
Stkp
GRK_Apollonia_Pontika.JPG
Thrace, Apollonia PontikaSear 1655 var., SNG BM Black Sea 160-61; SNG Cop. 457, Topanov p. 347-8

AR drachm, 13-15 mm. Mid-late 4th century B.C.

Obv: Facing gorgoneion, spiral ornament [snakes?] below

Rev: Upright anchor; A and crawfish to left and right.

Around 610 B.C., Ionian Greeks from Miletos established an outpost on the western Black Sea coast called Antheia. The city prospered, and in the late 5th century B.C. it commissioned the Greek sculptor Kalamis of Boeotia to cast a 13 ton, 10 meter high, bronze statue of Apollo for its new temple of Apollo. The temple was so popular that the city was renamed Apollonia in its honor.

The gorgoneion (severed head of the gorgon Medusa) was a popular apotropaic device, seen as warding off evil. The anchor and the crayfish attest to the city’s reliance on maritime commerce for its economy.

In 342/1 BC, Philip II attacked and conquered Apollonia as well as other towns in Thrace, incorporating them into the Macedonian realm. The Gorgoneion/Anchor silver drachms were struck in the period preceding this event, when the city needed to produce coinage to finance its defense against the impending Macedonian invasion. Philip’s conquest ended the city’s autonomous silver coinage.
Stkp
GRK_Aspendos_stater.JPG
Pamphylia, AspendosSear 5390, SNG Copenhagen 232, SNG France 101 (same obverse die), Tekin Series 4, Arslan-Lightfoot 81

AR Stater (21-23 mm.), ca. 380-325 B.C.

Obv: Two wrestlers grappling, N (retrograde) F between

Rev: ΕΣΤΦΕΔIIΥΣ to left, Slinger in throwing stance right; triskeles to right.
Stkp
GRK_Athens_tetradrachm.JPG
Attica, Athens.Sear 2526, SNG Copenhagen 31.

AR Tetradrachm (24 mm.), struck 454 to 393 B.C.

Obv: Head of Athena right wearing helmet Athena's helmet decorated with floral scroll and three olive leaves.

Rev: AΘE to left, owl standing right, olive sprig and crescent to left; all within incuse.
1 commentsStkp
GRK_Boeotia_stater.JPG
Boeotia, Thebes, federal coinage.Sear 2395, SNG Copenhagen 340-341; BMC Central Greece pg. 83, 151; Hepworth 63; BCD Boeotia 555.

AR Stater (12.21 gr., 20 mm.), by magistrate Kalli ca. 363-338 B.C.

Obv: Boeotian shield.

Rev: Amphora, KA-LLI to left and right, within incuse concave circle.
3 commentsStkp
GRK_Boetia_Thespiae_Sear_2458.jpg
Boeotia. ThespiaeSGCV 2458; BMC Central Greece pg. 90, 4; SNG Copenhagen 401-402

AR obol, .63 g., 9.78 mm. max.

Struck ca. 431-424 B.C.

Obv: Boeotian shield

Rev: ΘEΣ, upward-facing crescent comprised of three lines.

Thespiae was a member of the Boeotian League. In 424 B.C. during the Peloponnesian War, the Thespian contingent of the Boeotian army sustained heavy losses in the Athenian invasion of Boeotia at the Battle of Delium. In 423 B.C. the Thebans dismantled the walls of Thespiae, apparently as a measure to prevent a democratic revolution. The terminus of this emission coincides with these events.

The crescent on the reverse of this coin refers to Aphrodite Melainis, who was worshipped at Thespiai as a moon goddess. The legend is an abbreviation for ΘΕΣΠΙΕΩΝ of Thespians.
Stkp
GRK_celtic_drachm_imitating_Alexander_III,_OTA_Table_43,_Type_577-578.jpg
Celtic, Danube Region, Uncertain Tribe. Imitating Type of Alexander III of MacedonCCCBM I 215; Göbl, OTA Table 43, Type 577-578; Sammlung Lanz 896-897

AR drachm; struck in the Danube region circa second to first centuries B.C.; 3.24 g., 18.48 mm. max., 0°

Obv: Stylized head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress.

Rev: Stylized Zeus seated left, holding eagle and sceptre; amphora in inner left field.
3 commentsStkp
GRK_Corinth_stater.JPG
Corinthia, Corinth.Sear 2631 var., Ravel 1083; Calciati (Pegasi) I pg. 270, 459.

AR Stater (8.03 gr., 25 mm), struck ca. 345-307 B.C.

Obv: Pegasos with pointed wings flying left, koppa beneath.

Rev: Head of Athena wearing Corinthian helmet and leather cap facing left, Δ-I flanking and statuette of Athena holding shield and spear facing left, behind.
2 commentsStkp
GRK_Dyrrhachium.jpg
Illyria, Dyrrhachium (Durrës/Durazzo, Albania)SGCV 1899-1901 var., Ceka 278, Meta IV/74

AR Drachm, 3.01 gr., 19.82 mm. max., 0â—¦; struck 61 B.C., Petrányi Class D4 (struck 92-60 BC).

Obv: Cow standing right, looking back at calf, which it suckles, ΚΤΗΤΟΣ (=Ktitos, the moneyer) and wreath above, tripod to right, [A in exergue], all within beaded border.

Rev: ΔYP (= DYR, for Dyrrhachium) above square with concave sides containing two separation lines and vertically-oriented petal-shaped rays, ΚΛΕΙ-ΤΟΡΙ-ΟΥ (= of Kleitorios, the magistrate), around square in three parts clockwise, all within a linear border.

Apollonia and Dyrrhachium were founded by Corcyra, and produced parallel series of similar coins during the first four centuries B.C. The drachma series was minted from the end of the 3rd century B.C. until the mid-1st century under Roman protectorate, and shows devices adopted from Corcyra: the cow with suckling calf on the obverse and a symmetrical geometrical pattern on the reverse.
Stkp
GRK_Euboia_Histiaia_tetrobol.JPG
Euboia, Hisiaia.Sear 2496, BCD Euboia 378-424, BMC 24 ff.

AR tetrobol, 12-13 mm, 3rd-2nd centuries B.C.

Obv: Wreathed head of nymph Histiaia with her hair rolled facing right.

Rev: ΙΣΤ--AIEΩN; nymph Histiaia seated right on stern of galley, wing on side of galley,control symbol(s), if any, below (off flan).

Histiaia, named after its patron nymph, commanded a strategic position overlooking the narrows leading to the North Euboian Gulf. In the Illiad, Homer describes the surrounding plain as “rich in vines.” In 480 B.C. the city was overrun by the Persians. After the Persian Wars it became a member of the Delian Confederacy. In 446 the Euboians revolted, seized an Athenian ship and murdered its crew. They were promptly reduced by Athens. Perikles exiled the population to Macedonia and replaced them with Athenians. The exiled population probably returned at the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404; thereafter they seem to have been largely under the control of Sparta until they joined the Second Athenian Confederacy in 376-375. The city appears to have become a member (for the first time) of the reconstituted league of Euboian cities in 340, but its allegiance during most of the 4th century seems to have vacillated between Athens and Macedonia. It was pro-Macedonian during the 3rd century, for which it was attacked in 208 and captured in 199 by a Roman-Pergamene force. The Roman garrison was removed in 194. To judge from the wide distribution of its coinage, Histiaia continued to prosper. Little is known of its later history, but finds at the site indicate it continued to be inhabited in Roman, Byzantine, and later times. (per NumisWiki)

The date of this extensive coinage is difficult to determine and is the subject of controversy. The bulk of it would appear to belong to the latter part of the third century B.C., and it may have commenced with the cessation of silver issues for the Euboian League circa 267 B.C. There are numerous imitations, of poor style and rough execution, which would seem to have been produced in Macedon just prior to the Roman victory over Perseus in 168 B.C. (per Sear)

Ref: Numismatik Lanz. Münzen von Euboia: Sammlung BCD. Auction 111 (November 25, 2002). Munich.
Stkp
GRK_Ionia_Miletos_Sear_3533.jpg
Ionia. Miletos.Sear 3533, SNG Kayhan 462-475; SNG Copenhagen 952-953, BMC Ionia p. 186, 34.

AR diobol/hemihekte (1/12th stater); struck 525-494 B.C., .1.16 g., 9.29 mm. max.

Obv.: Forepart of lion left, head turned back right.

Rev.: Stellate pattern in square incuse punch.

One of the earliest coins struck in silver.
Stkp
GRK_Kyme_SGCV_4174.jpg
Aeolis, Kyme.SGCV 4174, cf. SNG Kayhan 84 ff., SNG Cop 31 ff.; SNG von Aulock 1623; BMC Troas p. 105, 10 ff.; Klein 333; Rosen 538.

AR Hemiobol/tetartemorion, .24 gr., 7.84 mm. max.; struck ca. 450-400 B.C.

Obv: Head of eagle left (no ethnic).

Rev: Quadripartite “mill-sail” incuse square.
Stkp
GRK_Macedonian_Kings_Philip_III_Arrhidaeus_Sear_6750-51.jpg
Macedonian Kingdom. Philip III Arrhidaeus (323-317 B.C.)Sear 6750-6751 var.; Price P57; Müller P89.

AR drachm; struck circa 323-319 B.C. at the Ionia, Magnesia ad Maeandrum (Magneasia on the Meander) mint, 3.92 g., 17.04 mm. max, 0°.

Obv.: Head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean lion's skin headdress.

Rev.: ΦIΛIΠΠOY, Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, holding eagle and sceptre, IAT monogram below throne.

Arrhidaeus was the illegitimate son of King Philip II of Macedonia by Philinna of Larissa, and thus an elder half-brother of Alexander III the Great. He had mild learning difficulties. Alexander was fond of Arrhidaeus and took him on his campaigns, both to protect his life and to prevent his use as a pawn in any prospective challenge for the throne. After Alexander's death in Babylon in 323 B.C., the Macedonian army in Asia proclaimed Arrhidaeus as king, and he was re-named Philip. He served merely as a figurehead and as the pawn of a series of powerful generals. He was murdered in October 317 by Olympias, Alexander's mother, to ensure the succession of her grandson.
Stkp
GRK_Macedonia_Philip_tetradrachm.JPG
Macedonian KingdomSear 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.
1 commentsStkp
GRK_Massalia_SNG_Cop_723-728.JPG
Gaul, Massalia (Marseille) Sear 72, SNG Copenhagen 723-728, Depeyrot Marseille 31

AR Obol (10-12 mm.), struck ca. 200-121 B.C.

Obv: Youthful bare head of Apollo right.

Rev: M A within wheel of four spokes.
Stkp
GRK_Miletos.jpg
Ionia. Miletos.Sear 3532; SNG Kayhan 476-482; SNG Keckman 273; SNG Copenhagen 944-951; BMC Ionia p 185, 14-22.

AR diobol (1/12th stater); struck late 6th to early 5th century B.C., .1.03 g., 9.09 mm. max., 0°

Obv.: Forepart of lion right, head turned back left.

Rev.: Stellate pattern in square incuse punch.

One of the earliest coins struck in silver.
1 commentsStkp
GRK_Mysia_Parion_Sear_3922.jpg
Mysia. ParionSear 3922; SNG France 1368-1370; SNG von Aulock 1322; BMC 35-37.

AR hemidrachm, 350-300 B.C., 1.42 g., 14.18 mm. max., 90°

Obv.: Gorgoneion facing, surrounded by snakes.

Rev.: ΠA–PI above and below, bull standing left, head right; six-pointed star below.

Parion was a city of Mysia, located along the coast of the Hellespont, near the entrance to the Propontis. It was founded in the 8th/7th century B.C. by colonists from Miletos, Erythrai, and Paros (who probably gave the city its name). It began striking coinage in the late 6th century, consisting mainly of silver drachms with a gorgoneion on the obverse and a simple square incuse on the reverse. The gorgoneion remained a significant type on its civic coinage into the Roman period. Parion’s location relative to the Hellespont not only made it an important commercial center, as suggested by its prolific civic coinage, but also a strategically important city for the competing Hellenistic monarchies.
Stkp
GRK_Parion.JPG
Thracian. Odrysian KingdomTopalov Thrace p. 230, 55

AR unit (12 mm.), struck early 5th - middle 4th century B.C.

Obv: [Gorgoneion]

Rev: Cruciform incuse square with pellet at center.

Imitative of a drachm or hemidrachm from Parion, in Mysia (Sear 3917-3918, cf. SNG Copenhagen 256, cf. SNG Delepierre 2527).

This type has traditionally been attributed to Parion, Mysia or as a Celtic imitative of the Parion type. Based on find locations in the area of Plovdiv, Haskova, Stara Zagora and Yambol in Bulgaria, Topalov has reattributed this imitative type to the Thracian Odrysian Kingdom. He notes they may have been struck by a tribal mint or by one of the Greek cities within Odrysian territory to pay their annual tax to the tribe.
Stkp
GRK_Parthia_Orodes_II_Sear_7442.JPG
Parthia. Orodes II (57-38 B.C.)AR Drachm, Nisa mint, 18 mm.

Sear 7442, Sellwood Type 46_, Shore 233 var. (per dealer's attribution)

Obv: Short-bearded bust left wearing diadem and pellet-ended torque, crescent behind; wart not visible on forehead; circular border of pellets cannot be confirmed.

Rev: Beardless archer (Arsakes I) wearing bashlyk and cloak seated right on throne, holding bow in right hand; _______ behind archer; NI below bow [mintmark]; no border; seven-line Greek inscription (ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ [above] ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ [to right] ΕΥΕΡΓΕΤΟΥ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ [below] ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝΟΣ [to left]) (= Of the King of Kings, Arsakes [founder of the Arsacid Dynasty] ...).

Orodes was a son of Phraates III, whom he murdered in 57 B.C., with the assistance of his brother Mithridates III. In the power struggle that ensued, Mithridates allied himself with Rome, but was captured and slain in 54 B.C. In 53 B.C., Marcus Licinius Crassus invaded Parthia in belated support of Mithridates, but was defeated at the Battle of Carrhae and killed. His severed head was presented to Orodes II during a performance of Euripides' tragedy, The Bacchae, where it was used as a prop, carried by one of the actors in the play.
Stkp
GRK_Parthia_Phraates_IV.jpg
Phraates IV (38-2 B.C.)Sear 7472, Sellwood 52.10, Shore 276-278

AR Drachm, Ekbatana mint, 3.54 g., 17.69 mm. max., 0°

Obv: Bare headed bust with medium-long hair in five waves wearing broad three-layered diadem and three ribbons, moustache, long beard bent back at the tip and wart on forehead facing left, eagle offering diadem in upper right field.

Rev: Beardless archer (Arsakes I) wearing bashlyk and cloak seated right on throne, holding bow in right hand; monogram 26 below bow [mintmark ?]; seven-line Greek inscription: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ (above) ΑΡΣΑΚ[ΟΥ] (to right) ΕΥΕΡΓΕΤΟΥ / ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ (below) ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝ[ΟΣ] (to left) (= Of the King of Kings, Arsakes [founder of the Arsacid Dynasty]).

Son of Orodes II, Phraates was appointed successor to the throne in 37 B.C., after the death of his brother Pacorus I. He soon murdered his father and all his thirty brothers.
Stkp
GRK_Persis_Pakor_I_Sear_5946.jpg
Kings Of Persis. Pakor I (early to mid first century A.D.)Sear GI 5946; Klose & Müseler 4/29; Tyler-Smith 178 (Pakor II); Alram 597-598 (Pakor II); Sunrise 608-610; BMC Arabia pg. 229, 3

AR Hemidrachm, Persepolis (Fars Province, Iran) mint; .52 g., 10.21 mm. max., 90°

Obv: Bearded bust left, wearing diadem.

Rev: Triskeles with Aramaic inscription around.
2 commentsStkp
GRK_Sicily_Syracuse_Sear_917.jpg
Sicily, SyracuseSear 917, Boehringer Series XI, 286-291 or Series XXd, 362-70; SNG ANS 116-118 or 251-252; SNG Copenhagen 634.

AR litra (= obol), Deinomenid Tyranny (ca. 485-466 B.C.), struck ca. 480/75-470 B.C., under Gela (485-478 B.C.) or Hieron I (478-466 B.C.), .55 g., 8.47 mm. max.

Obv.: Diademed head of Arethusa right.

Rev.: Wheel of four spokes.
Stkp
GRK_SRCV_294_Campagnia_Hyria.jpg
Campania, Hyria.SRCV 294 var. (Athena facing right), HN Italy 539, Rutter 88.

AR nomos, struck c.a. 400-395 B.C., 7.02 gr., 20.19 mm. max., 0°.

Obv.: Head of Athena left, in Attic helmet decorated with owl and laurel branch.

Rev.: Man-headed bull walking left, YDINAI above.
Stkp
GRK_Thessalian_League_Sear_--.jpg
Thessaly. Thessalian LeagueSGCV --, Franke, Geschicte 4; BCD Thessaly II 15

AR Obol. .45 g., 7.43 mm. max., 180°

Struck ca. 470s-460s B.C.

Obv: Head and neck of bridled horse right

Rev: AΘ- ΦΕ, Grain ear in incuse square

The Thessalian League was a loose confederacy of city-states and tribes in the Thessalian valley in Northern Greece. The seat of the Thessalian diet was Larissa.
2 commentsStkp
GRK_Thessaly,_Pharsalos_SGCV_2192.jpg
Thessaly, PharsalosSGCV 2192, Lavva __, see Triton XV, Lot 668.

AR Hemidrachm, 2.45 gr., 15.31 mm. max., 270◦; struck early to mid 4th century B.C.

Obv: Head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet, her hair freely escaping under the neck cover; T-IΠ (engraver's or magistrate's initials) in tiny letters behind neck.

Rev: Head of horse right, Φ-A above to left and right, Σ-P retrograde and P possibly also upside down to left. and right below.

Pharsalos was the only important Thessalian city issuing coins in the fifth century
B.C. which did not belong to one of the two groups producing Thessalian federal
coinage.
Stkp
GRK_Thessaly_Krannon_SGCV_-.jpg
Thessaly, KrannonSGCV --, Liampi, Corpus, p. 106, 4, pl. 4, 45/47

AR Obol, .81 g., 10.73 mm. max. 180°

Struck ca. 462/1-460 B.C.

Obv.: Forepart of bull left, head and neck right; trident behind.

Rev.: K-RA, bridled head and neck of horse right; all within incuse square

The city of Krannon, named for the son of Poseidon, was located in Thessaly near the source of the river Onchestus. The devices on this emission depict the taurokathapsia -- a form of bull fighting that was popular in Thessaly, in which a man on horseback would grab the horns of a running bull, leap onto the bull, dismount, and wrestle it to the ground.
Stkp
GRK_Thrace_Cherronesos_Sear_1602-6.jpg
Thrace. Cherronesos.Sear 1602-1606 var., SNG Copenhagen 843, BMC Thrace 14; McClean 4076-4077

AR hemidrachm, ca. 480-350 B.C. (per Head, SNG Copenhagen, McClean); 400-350 B.C. (per Sear), ca. 350-300 B.C. (per SNG Lewis, SNG Manchester, SNG Aarhus), ca 4th century BC (per Kraay), 2.34 g., 13.82 mm. max, 0°

Obv.: Forepart of lion right, head reverted.

Rev.: Quadripartite incuse square with alternating raised and sunken quarters; pellet and wreath in opposite sunken quarters.

Gallipoli peninsula) that struck these coins is uncertain. The coins may have been struck at Cardia by the peninsula as a league, or perhaps they were struck by lost city on the peninsula named Cherronesos. The area was under the control of Athens from 560 B.C. to 338 BC, except for a brief period when it was controlled by Persia. It was taken over by Philip II in 338 B.C.

The frequent test cuts found on these coins attests to their use as an intercity trade currency.
Stkp
SGCV_1295_Macedon_Eion.jpg
Macedonia. EionSear 1295; HGC 3, 521; SNG ANS 287-90; SNG Copenhagen 177-178; BMC Macedonia p. 74, 11
AR trihemiobol or diobol; struck ca. 460-400 B.C.; .93 g., 12.0 mm. max.

Obv: Goose standing right, head left; lizard above; H to lower left

Rev: Quadripartite incuse square

Eion, on the river Strymon, was only about three miles from Amphipolis and from the late 5th century onwards served merely as a seaport of its much larger neighbor.
Stkp
SGCV_6689-91_Kings_of_Macedon_Philip_III_Arrhidaeus.jpg
Kings of Macedon. Philip III Arrhidaeus (323-317 B.C.) in type of Philip II (359-336 B.C.)Sear 6689-6691 var. (sequence mark); Le Rider pl. 45, 31-2; Troxell, Studies, Group 6, 362; SNG ANS 621

AR fifth tetradrachm; Amphipolis mint; struck under Antipater or Polyperchon, ca. 320/19-317 B.C. ; 2.54 g., 13.18 mm. max., 180â–«

Obv: Head of Apollo right, wearing tainia

Rev: ΦIΛIΠΠOΥ, rider on horseback facing right, Ε in wreath below

Le Rider notes that these coins are too heavy to be considered tetrobols on the standard of the tetradrachm of the period (ca. 14.29–14.39 g), which would require a coin of, at most, 2.38–2.40 g. Nor are they heavy enough to be truly fifths of a tetradrachm (ca. 2.86–2.88), such as the fifths with the same types were in the lifetime coinage of Philip. Le Rider suggests that these fractions could pass at their period as tetrobols on the Attic standard, but on the whole prefers to regard them as fifths of the tetradrachm. Their correct denomination remains unclear.

The obverse features the head of Apollo, who became the tutelary deity of Philip II in 353 B.C. during the Third Sacred War. Vowing he would fight on behalf of the god, whose sacred treasury at Delphi had been stolen, precipitating the conflict, he used the war as an opportunity to expand his control in Greece. The rider on the reverse, similar to the reverse of Philip II’s tetradrachms, ostensibly extols his victory in the horse race at the Olympic Games in 356 B.C. However, the reverse also recalls the earlier Macedonian royal types, possibly an attempt to emphasize his Macedonian ancestry.
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