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Stater - Philip III Arrhidaeus Pella
| Issuer | Kingdom of Macedonia |
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| Year | 323 BC - 310 BC |
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| Currency | Drachm |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Apollo facing right, rendered in the fine Hellenic style characteristic of fourth-century Macedonian coinage, with flowing, elaborately detailed hair secured by a laurel wreath whose leaves are depicted with great plasticity. The youthful, idealized visage displays refined facial features including a straight nose, slightly parted lips, and a delicate chin, filling the flan in a bold, high-relief portrait. The field is plain, with no additional inscription or symbol, the entire design conveying the divine elegance associated with the Apollonian type introduced under Philip II. |
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| Mint | Pella |
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| Additional information |
Philip III Arrhidaeus was Alexander the Great's half-brother — intellectually disabled, almost certainly exploited as a figurehead — who was elevated to the Macedonian throne immediately after Alexander's death in 323 BC by soldiers who wanted a king they could control. The gold staters struck in his name at Pella continued the Philip II coinage types rather than adopting anything new, a deliberate political choice to project continuity during the brutal succession wars among the Diadochi.
He was murdered on Olympias's orders in 317 BC, yet the Pella mint continued striking staters in his name until approximately 310 BC — coins honoring a king already dead for seven years.