Ancients: Philip II, King of Macedonia

Hmmm ... well, when I look at my coin in the mirror, I see left-left (perhaps I should take a photo?)

 

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In fact, a few left/left varieties come up on eBay and vcoins once in a great while, but they're all in such poor condition that even Bing would turn up his nose. (Just some friendly ribbing JW!)

It raises an interesting question: were the left/left types struck at a mint, or during a period that had less quality control? Or did those coins circulate more than others due to some circumstances about which we know nothing? Or a combination of the above?

 

Hello RaceBannon! I have that exact Alexander coin. This is the first time I have ever seen the EXACT markings on another Tertrdrachm. I would love to talk to you a bit and see where you have found any information on this coin. I have been looking for a few years now. I hope to hear back from you. Thanks

 

I feel like piling on just saying 'Great Coin!' but it will be a while before this one gets upgraded. TIF pointed out a point I particularly like in the way that the dotted border fails to enclose the entire design. Race's A3 shows this with the hand of Zeus. I suppose the best example of this is the Naxos tetradrachm with the head of Dionysus. Need I point out I don't have one?
http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?similar=2176700

 

i happened to think those were errors of the die cutter. They scaled the design wrong, so instead of abandoning the die they just ignored the fact that the graphics would run out of the boarder.

Is there any specific record that tells us the die cutters were also designers (artists)? Why people always assumed those were the same person? To me they are complete different professions, one takes an artist, the other an engineer. There are very few people that could do both, like Leonardo da vinci.

 

Welcome Zach2016 ... if your coin looks exactly like Bannon's, then it's pretty sweet (do you have any photos of it?)

=> I love seeing other people's coins!!

 

I actually had 2 dogs in my adult life that I had named Bucephalus...

 

@AncientJoe , thank you for the wonderful write-up, and the beautiful upgrade to your historical placemarker of Philipou B. I really enjoy Philip II as a genius for his time, taking a rag-tag kingdom and turning it into a world power that Alexander III continued in Philip's legacy. Brilliant man who passed / murdered way too early for his time...

 

AJ, your excellent coins are made even better by your interesting write-ups. Thanks for showing us the Philip II, but also for writing it up so well.

 

Thanks Warren and everyone else! These threads being bumped remind me of just how woefully far behind I am on new writeups. One of these days...

 

I miss this coin. Glad you still own it.

 

The most recent research now is saying that these coins (and their bronze counterparts) are not of Philip but of Alexander (and even later). I am not so sure I agree with it, but it seems there has been an awful lot of re-attributions in the last decade. I am inclined to take them at face value and assume they are Philip II. After all, there really isnt any way to tell conclusively.

 

Absolutely stunning coins everyone!

Here is my Phillip II tetradrachm, with a race-torch below the horse's raised foreleg, from the Amphipolis mint, circa 315-294 BC.

 

Beautiful coin AJ. Look at how the rider has a "Mohawk" hair style that parallels the look of the horse's mane. That has to be a deliberate design choice. An interesting artistic choice or an actual period hair style? Or do I read too much into a tiny portion of the design?

John