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Tetradrachm - Demetrius I Poliorcetes Pella
| Issuer | Kingdom of Macedonia |
|---|---|
| Year | 291 BC - 290 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | Standing nude figure of Poseidon facing left, right foot raised and resting on a rocky promontory or prow, body in a dynamic contrapposto pose. The god holds a long trident upright in his right hand, the shaft extending toward the upper field, while his left arm is extended. The composition reflects the iconographic association between Demetrius Poliorcetes and Poseidon, underscoring his naval prowess and divine pretensions. The royal legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ to the right and ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ to the left frames the central figure in two vertical columns. A thunderbolt monogram appears in the lower left field, and the whole design is enclosed within a beaded border. |
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| Reverse lettering | BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΔHMHTPIOY |
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Demetrius I earned his epithet "Poliorcetes" — the Besieger — through his siege warfare, most famously at Rhodes in 305–304 BC, where he deployed nine-story siege towers and ultimately failed to take the city, yet accepted such honorable terms that the Rhodians melted down his abandoned equipment to cast the Colossus. By 291–290, he controlled Macedonia itself, having claimed the throne in 294 after killing Alexander V. The Pella mint was operating at the height of his royal ambitions before his capture by Seleucus I in 285 BC ended his reign entirely.
Newell 82 places this firmly within the consolidated Macedonian royal coinage, distinct from his earlier issue types struck as strategos.