Æ - Ateas

Ateas ruled the Pontic steppe as the most powerful Scythian king on record, unifying tribes across a territory stretching from the Danube to the Don before his death at the Battle of Vovina in 339 BC — reportedly at the age of ninety. His conflict with Philip II of Macedon, which ended his reign and his life, is the reason these bronzes represent the only firmly attributed royal Scythian coinage. Without that confrontation forcing a degree of political formalization, it is unlikely Ateas would have issued civic-style coinage at all.