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Tetradrachm - Philip II Amphipolis
| Issuer | Kingdom of Macedonia |
|---|---|
| Year | 355 BC - 348 BC |
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| Reference(s) | Le Rider#165, SNG ANS 8#486, SNG Munich 1#109 |
| Obverse description | Laureate head of Zeus facing right, rendered in fine high relief with elaborate flowing hair and a full, carefully detailed beard. The laureate wreath is composed of interlocking olive leaves set deeply into the hair. The facial features are modeled with considerable artistry, conveying a serene, divine majesty characteristic of the finest Macedonian die-engraving of the mid-4th century BC. The neck truncation is plain, and the field is unadorned. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A helmeted jockey rides a prancing horse to the right atop a ground line, the rider wearing a crested Boeotian helmet and a billowing cloak. The horse is depicted in vigorous motion with its forelegs raised, conveying dynamic energy characteristic of Macedonian coinage under Philip II. A palm branch symbol appears in the lower left field. The Greek legend ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ is inscribed around the upper and right periphery of the coin in clear archaic Greek letters. |
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| Additional information |
Philip II began striking these tetradrachms at Amphipolis almost immediately after seizing the city in 357 BC, transforming what had been a contested Athenian colony into the principal mint of his expanding kingdom. The timing was deliberate — Amphipolis sat adjacent to the gold and silver mines of Mount Pangaion, and controlling that bullion supply funded the professional army that would remake Greek warfare entirely. Athens had lost the city and, with it, any realistic chance of matching Macedonian military expenditure.
Le Rider's die study identified this specific emission among the earliest of the Amphipolis sequence, before Philip's monetary output scaled dramatically in the 340s following further conquest.