Tetrachalkon - Philip II Coiled Serpent

Philip II minted bronze in quantities his predecessors had not, partly because the silver flooding in from the Pangaion mines made small-denomination coinage politically and economically viable to subsidize. Bronze served the army camp and the agora equally — and Philip's Macedonia had both in relentless demand across his 23-year reign.

The SNG ANS references place this piece within a well-documented but internally complex series. Die studies have shown considerable variation across the coiled serpent bronzes, suggesting multiple production runs rather than a single mint episode.