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Chalkon - Philip II Uncertain mint in Macedon
| Issuer | Kingdom of Macedonia |
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| Year | 359 BC - 336 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Youthful head of Herakles facing left, clad in the Nemean lion skin headdress, with the scalp knotted beneath the chin. The facial features are rendered in archaic Greek style with a broad forehead and strong jaw. The lion's mane and ears are visible framing the hero's face, consistent with Macedonian bronze coinage iconography of the mid-4th century BC. |
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| Reverse description | A winged thunderbolt depicted in full spread, with volutes at the central grip and radiating zigzag bolts to either side, occupying the central field. The royal legend ΦΙΛΙ above and ΠΠΟΥ below flanks the thunderbolt, identifying the issuing authority as Philip II. The thunderbolt, a symbol of Zeus and royal Macedonian power, is rendered with characteristic archaic vigor typical of Philip II's bronze coinage. |
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| Additional information |
Philip II inherited a kingdom on the verge of collapse in 359 BC — the Macedonian army had just been destroyed by the Illyrians, his predecessor Perdiccas III killed in the rout. The administrative and monetary reforms he pushed through over the following decade, including the expansion of bronze coinage for small transactions, were inseparable from his military reorganization. Small bronzes like this chalkon circulated at the lowest tier of that economy, funding the garrisons, markets, and supply trains that made the Macedonian war machine function.
The uncertain mint attribution reflects genuine scholarly disagreement. Multiple production centers were active under Philip across the expanding kingdom, and the SNG ANS 994–995 grouping clusters these pieces by die similarity rather than firm provenance.