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Drachm - Philip III Sardes
| Issuer | Kingdom of Macedonia |
|---|---|
| Year | 323 BC - 319 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Bare head of the youthful, beardless Heracles in right profile, enveloped in the scalp of the Nemean lion, the beast's gaping jaws framing the hero's face and its forepaws knotted at the neck. The high-relief portrait displays fine engraving of the lion's mane and pelt, rendered in the vigorous Hellenistic style characteristic of the Sardis mint. A dotted border frames the field. |
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| Reverse description | Zeus Aëtophoros enthroned left on a backless throne, his nude torso rendered with classical dignity; an eagle with closed wings perches on his extended right hand, while his left hand grasps a long sceptre. A torch appears in the left field with the control mark TI above it. The Greek legend ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ runs along the right field, identifying the coin as issued in the name of Philip III Arrhidaeus. The composition follows the canonical Alexandrine reverse type established at the Sardis mint. |
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| Additional information |
Struck at Sardes under Philip III Arrhidaeus, the half-brother of Alexander the Great who was elevated to the throne precisely because he lacked the capacity to exercise independent power — a puppet king managed first by Perdiccas, then by successive regents through the wars of the Diadochi. The Sardes mint was among the most productive in the western satrapies during this transitional window, continuing Alexander's coinage types under the new royal name as the empire fractured around it.
Philip III was murdered in 317 BC on the orders of Olympias, narrowing the authentic production window at this mint considerably.