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Æ - Demetrius I Poliorcetes
| Issuer | Kingdom of Macedonia |
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| Year | 290 BC - 286 BC |
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| Reference(s) | Newell#163, HGC 3.1#1026b, SNG Alpha Bank#956 |
| Obverse description | Bare head of a young warrior, identified as Demetrios I Poliorcetes, facing right, wearing a Macedonian-style crested helmet with a prominent cheek guard and decorated neck flange. The portrait is rendered in a bold Hellenistic style, with fine engraving of the helmet's crest and cheekpiece visible against a smooth field. The flan is slightly irregular, typical of bronze issues of this period. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΒΑ |
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| Additional information |
Demetrius I held Macedonia for only a few years before his own troops began deserting him en masse — starving and unpaid, they simply walked into the camp of Pyrrhus of Epirus and switched allegiance without a battle. He surrendered to Seleucus I in 285 BC and died in captivity the following year, drinking himself to death according to ancient sources. Bronze issues from the tail end of his Macedonian reign are correspondingly scarce, struck against the backdrop of a collapsing administration hemorrhaging men and territory on multiple fronts.