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Tetradrachm - Philip II Amphipolis
| Issuer | Kingdom of Macedonia |
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| Year | 315 BC - 294 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 14.34 g |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Zeus facing right, rendered in high relief with finely detailed curling hair and beard in the classical Macedonian style. The laurel wreath is clearly articulated with individual leaves visible across the crown. The portrait conveys a mature, powerful divinity with strong facial features and a slightly open mouth. The field is smooth and the coin is contained within a beaded border. The overall style is consistent with the posthumous Amphipolis coinage struck in the name of Philip II. |
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| Reverse description | A young nude jockey rides a horse at full gallop to the right, holding the reins and a palm branch of victory in his raised hand, symbolizing athletic triumph. Beneath the horse, a thunderbolt is shown accompanied by the Greek letter Ζ (zeta), serving as a control mark. Below the horse's foreleg, a dolphin swims to the right, functioning as an additional control symbol. The legend ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ appears in the field, attributing the issue to Philip II. The reverse is contained within a plain border and reflects the Macedonian royal coinage tradition celebrating equestrian victory at the Olympian games. |
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| Additional information |
These tetradrachms were struck at Amphipolis after Philip II's death in 336 BC, continuing under Cassander's authority as he consolidated control over Macedonia during the brutal succession wars that followed Alexander's own death in 323 BC. Amphipolis had been Macedonia's most productive silver mint, drawing on the ore wealth of nearby Mount Pangaeus — the same mines that had originally bankrolled Philip's military machine. The posthumous issue ran for decades precisely because the Philip II type carried commercial trust across the Aegean world that newer dynastic types had not yet earned.