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Chalkon - Alexander
| Issuer | Pherai |
|---|---|
| Year | 369 BC - 358 BC |
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| Reference(s) | BCD Thessaly I#1315, SNG Copenhagen#246, Rogers#524 |
| Obverse description | Forepart of a bull advancing to the right, rendered in relief with characteristic Thessalian vitality; the animal's muscular neck and lowered head are prominently depicted, with the eye rendered as a small incuse circle. The design fills the broadly irregular flan in the bold, archaic style typical of Thessalian bronze coinage of the fourth century BC. No legend or inscription appears in the field. |
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| Reverse description | Forepart of a horse galloping to the right, depicted in energetic motion with forelegs extended, the mane rendered in stylized strokes. The Greek legend ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, referring to Alexander of Pherai, is distributed in the field around the horse in three segments: ΑΛΕΞ to the upper left, ΑΝΔ to the upper right, and ΡΟΥ in the lower field. The inscription identifies the issuing tyrant and is executed in the archaic Greek alphabet characteristic of Thessalian civic issues. |
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| Additional information |
Pherai rose to regional dominance under Jason, the tagos who briefly unified Thessaly before his assassination in 370 BC. The city's subsequent rulers — his brothers and then Alexander of Pherai — continued striking bronze coinage through a period of persistent military pressure from Macedon and repeated interventions by Thebes. Alexander of Pherai was himself assassinated in 358 BC by his own wife and her brothers, ending the dynasty abruptly. These bronzes circulated during one of the most turbulent decades in Thessalian political history, which makes датировка within the 369–358 window difficult without die study.