Ancients: Philip II, King of Macedonia

This coin is an upgrade to a previous example I owned. Lifetime tetradrachms of Philip II in the early style are hard to find and from the auction images, I assumed this coin would be largely untoned, making me pleasantly surprised upon receiving it.



Philip II was the father of Alexander the Great and the youngest son of the king Amyntas III. He took the throne in 359 BC upon the death of his elder brothers, at a time when Macedonia was a poorly organized, economically insignificant, and militarily weak kingdom.

Philip’s leadership and vision of Macedonia’s future allowed him to succeed in unifying the intensely fragmented city-states of Greece under his rule in little more than twenty years.

Early in his reign, Philip focused on conquering the town of Crenides, quickly succeeding and renaming it to Philippi. He established a significant military presence to control their mines which provided him the financial backing for his future expansion. He converted his newly acquired bullion into a vast supply of coins; his tetradrachms and staters became some of the best known currencies of the day.

Despite being the King of Macedonia, Philip faced an uphill battle: the Greeks feared but did not respect him. Macedonians spoke a different language and were considered less cultured than the Greeks, thought to be barbaric, uncouth, and boorish.

The contemporary historian Demosthenes documented Philip’s struggles, describing him as “the finest orator” and a “Greek of Greeks” but that “ill-conditioned fellows in Athens” continued to “call him a barbarian.”

Only true Greeks were allowed to participate in the Olympics, and Philip was determined to convince his Athenian opposition that he was indeed worthy to be considered Greek. After successfully uniting Macedonia and Thessaly, Philip could make a legitimate claim to membership in Greek organizations and was no longer technically considered a barbarian, although this did not convince the public.

Philip entered his horse into the keles, a 1.2km horseback race, in the 106th Olympics in 356 BC and won. This was a two-fold victory: having been admitted officially into the games and winning, he solidified his standing as a true Greek.

He proceeded to win two more times, in the 107th Olympics in 352 BC in the four-horse chariot race and in the 108th Olympics in 348 BC in the two-horse chariot race.

The fastest way to spread current news and political messages was through coinage as modern paper wasn't invented until the 1700s and lambskin, vellum, and papyrus were expensive. Philip chose his coin types carefully. By minting coins commemorating his Olympic success, Philip was producing propaganda which popularized his claim as a true Greek and noted his favor with the gods.

The Greeks believed that victory at the Olympics was dictated and controlled by the gods, who would select as winner the competitor they alone deemed worthy or liked the best, rather than the athlete with the best trainer or equipment. It was also believed that the gods would treat Olympic winners favorably in battle, aiding Philip in his acceptance as a Greek leader and therefore helping his efforts to unite and control Greece, paving the way for his son Alexander’s later conquering of most of the known world.

Philip's primary issue of coins was a series of tetradrachms bearing an obverse portrait of Zeus and on the reverse, a muscular horse ridden by a young, slim jockey shown running his victory lap and holding a palm branch, a symbol given to the victor.

Zeus appears as the patron of the Olympic Games. The quality of Zeus’ particularly elegant portrait on this coin, with a smooth forehead, clean arch of the eyebrow, and finely chiseled nose shows its inspiration by the gold and ivory statue of Zeus by Phidias at Olympia. This statue was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and further enforces the Olympic theme.

Perfectly struck and engraved in extremely high relief, possessing a sensitive and gentle expression of Zeus as a god of compassion, the portrait on this coin ranks among the finest contemporary works. Compared with the thousands of dies used across the wide mintage of Philip II tetradrachms, this is one of the most stunningly beautiful, depicted in the finest late classical style.

Zeus’ dynamic hair spills over the dotted border, a bold statement of artistic freedom and a desire to not be constrained by the restrictions of conventional coin engraving. This creates an impression of a god that can't be contained, an artistic concept first seen in the coinage from Naxos which features Dionysis.

From sculptures uncovered in the excavation of Philip’s tomb in 1977, it has become evident that there are some subtle but clearly intentional similarities between Philip’s actual appearance and that of Zeus on his tetradrachms. The artist adopted some of Philip’s facial attributes in the depiction of Zeus, likely intending to further assert Philip’s divinity and claim to the broader throne of Greece.

After his death, the tetradrachms continued to be minted under Philip’s sons, but their style degraded considerably. The portrait on the obverse progressively lost its majesty and the horse became smaller as the jockey became larger, disrupting the proportion and aesthetics of the coin.

Relative to the earliest coins minted during his lifetime, the posthumous tetradrachms are much more plentiful, and their prevalence tends to negatively influence the overall perception of the series because of their inferior artistry. These coins were later copied and deviated even further from the original by several Celtic tribes as a primary pattern for the coinages in Gaul, Britain, and Eastern Europe, who adopted a much more abstract design in their execution.

This coin is the plate coin in the Le Rider reference (276) and was part of the important private collection of Henri de Nanteuil which now also functions as a reference guide because of its quality. Nateuil, born in 1876, was a decorated officer, serving as a captain of artillery and then a squadron leader in 1916, receiving the Legion of Honor for his service in the French army. He later became the CEO of the largest steel company in France, Denain-Anzin, and his collection was published in 1925 in Paris, in which this coin is listed as number 796.

Macedon, Tetradrachm of Philip II, Pella, ca. 359-336 BC, 14.488g, 12h. Le Rider 276 = Nanteuil 796 (this coin). Exceptionally broad flan with a particularly elegant head of Zeus of the finest late classical style. Choice Extremely Fine. Acquired privately from Tradart; Jean Vinchon April 1988 lot 345; former Henry de Nanteuil de la Norville (1876-1941) collection.


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That's a beautiful coin Joe. Makes me want to get into Ancient coins.

 

That was a very talented engraver/artist! I love how the portrait is not entirely constrained by the dotted border. It enhances the dimensionality.

I acquired a fine-style beautifully toned example in August.



KINGS OF MACEDON, Philip II. 356-36 BC
AR tetradrachm. 24mm, 14.20 gm, 12h
Lifetime issue of Pella, 342-336 BC
Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right
Rev: ΦIΛIΠ-ΠOY, youth, holding palm and reins, on horseback right, thunderbolt below, N in exergue
Ref: Le Rider 222-306. SNG ANS 385-95
Privately acquired August 2013; ex Colosseo Collection. Images by Colosseo.

 

Another great write up and stunning coin AJ! I recently made the leap into the world of ancient Greek Tetradrachms. I bought this Alexander III Tet last week.

After reading your post, I've got to get a Philip II!

KINGS OF MACEDON, Alexander III "The Great" 336-23 BC
AR tetradrachm. 26mm, 17.20 gm,
Lifetime or early posthumous issue of Side Mint, 325-321 BC
Obv: Head of Herakles draped in Lion Skin right
Rev: Zeus, seated on throne holding eagle, wreath in field
(Price 2949)

 

Great write up and exceptional coin! The toning is wonderful as is the execution of the portrait.

 

Great coin, AJ ... another trophy-coin (congrats)

=> oh, and very sharp lookin' coins from the gallery-gang as well (bravo!)

As per usual when I'm posing-down beside one of Joe's coins, I will preface that my humble example is not nearly as stunning ... but also as per usual, I'll toss-in that "I love my coin" (my example certainly comes equipped with a massive steroid-horse and a very cool "club" control-mark found underneath the horse's ripped body)
... yup, my horse is so massive that the craftsman had to run all of the Greek letters together on one line on the reverse!!


Kingdom of Macedon, Phillip I, AR Tetradrachm
Thraco-Macedonian standard
Pella Mint
336/5-329/8 BC (Posthumous issue)
Diameter: 24.34 mm
Weight: 14.0 grams
Obverse: Laureate head of the Olympian Zeus, with curly hair and curly close-cropped beard
Reverse: ΦIΛIΠ-ΠOY above naked youth on horse pacing right, holding long palm branch, club right below horse's belly
Reference: info taken directly from David Sear's Certificate of Authenticity




... again, that's a pretty fantastic addition you've got there, AJ (good pickin')

 

Coins like these I find the hardest to reply too. Seriously.

Stunning piece. Love the toning especially.

*goes back to buying scratched and pitted ancients*.

 

I am almost embarassed to add my coins to this thread in the company of those beauties!

Philip II, Ar Tetradrachm
Obv:– Laureate head of Zeus right
Rev:– FILIP-POU, king riding left, wearing kausia and chlamys, raising right hand in salute, erased protome of pegasos below, bow under right foreleg
Minted in Amphipolis mint. 355 - 348 BC
Reference:– Le Rider 164 (D75/R135)
There is a flaw on the reverse running through the body of the rider.
ex Münzhandlung Ritter GmbH, August 2006; ex Beast Coins; ex Mark Drazak Collection; ex Forvm Ancient Coins.



Philip II, Ar Tetradrachm
Obv:– Laureate head of Zeus right
Rev:– FILIPPOU, naked youth on horse pacing right on horseback holding palm, stalk of grain under belly, P below foreleg
Minted in Amphipolis mint.
Reference:– SNG ANS 667 - 680
Test cut on reverse.
14.114g, 24.3mm, 0o

 

And so you should be. Get rid of 'em. Send 'em to me and I'll take care of it for ya.

WhatchataklinboutWillis. Those are great examples Martin.

 

stunning coin...dang.

don't forget about poor philip iii...

 

Awesome coins all


Macedonian Kingdom, Philip II, 359 - 336 B.C.

Bronze AE Unit, SGCV II 6697, aVF, 7.079g, 16.9mm, 0o, Macedonian mint, obverse head of Apollo right wearing taenia; reverse FILIPPOU, young male rider on prancing horse right;

"Philip II expanded the size and influence of the Macedonian Kingdom, but is perhaps best known as the father of Alexander the Great. He personally selected the design of his coins. In 356 B.C., the year Alexander the Great was born, Philip's race horse won in the Olympic Games. The reverse of this type likely depicts his winning horse."

 

Great coins, everyone!

I hope you do reply to coins like mine - everyone has different budgets and there are many people in this world that could buy the entirety of all of our collections hundreds of times over. We all have to work within our individual situation but with ancients, the entry price to acquire historic and interesting coins is very low.

One of my first ancient coins was a sad looking campgate which cost $20. I bought it when I was heavily interested in early US gold coins, most of which cost in the mid-five-figures. Yet, that campgate was the coin I would keep coming back to. I then bought a $30 denarius and there was no turning back.

It's impossible to say what coin may spark someone's interest but I know that if I thought all ancient coins were very expensive, I likely wouldn't have ever started. Seeing the range of coins posted here is a great resource for new and budding collectors.

 

This is another one of those 'someday' coins for me. I really enjoy the type the majority that I have seen have had the details hold up really well.

Excellent coin AJ. I always enjoy the weekend because we get to see another one of your new coins I am just super late on commenting this time

 

It's an absolutely fabulous coin, Joe. Kudos! I have two modest bronzes of Philip II to share, but they are in fairly decent shape for the type. I'm looking for comparable examples in the other two orientations: both bust and rider right, and bust and rider left...

I like the idea of the horse and rider representing Philip's victory in the 106th Olympics. There is no way to prove the association of course, but what else could it be?

 

I have wondered if the horse and rider were meant to depict his son and Bucephalus. At the time of issue of these types, Alexander III was galloping through many successful battles.

 

It's too bad the ancients didn't tell us exactly what their coins meant more often. But I suppose if we knew everything, that would remove all the mystery, and mystery is part of the allure of ancient coins, at least for myself.

 

Cool examples, JA ... I have Apollo facing right and rider riding right (you have two different combinations of right & left) ... fascinating

Philip II AE Unit (Bronze)
359-336 B.C.
Diameter: 18mm
Weight: 6.2 grams
Obverse: Head of Apollo right
Reverse: Youth on horse right, FILIPPOU (FILIPPOY?), spear-head in exergue
Reference: cf Sear 6696-6698

 

Very nice Steve! The right/right combination is common and easy to obtain. The only reason I don't have an example is that I've been buying other coins, and this subset is on the back burner. The left/left combo is rare.

 

Yes same here, such amazing coins y'all.
Hmph makin' me jealous here.