Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 96 14-15 February 2017
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Macedonia, Philippoi. Gold Stater (8.51 g), ca. 356-345 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress. Reverse: ΦIΛIΠΠΩN, tripod; in right field, head of lion right. Bellinger 17; cf. SNG ANS 663-4 (control); Traité IV 1189, pl. CCCXXV, 2 = Nanteuil 751 (this coin). Very Rare. Well struck and delicately toned. Extremely Fine. Estimate Value $10,000 - UP
The Hanbery Collection; Purchased privately from F. Kovacs in 1991. Ex Leu 52 (15 May 1991), 54; Ex Leu 45 (26 May 1988), 113; Ex Hess-Leu 31 (6-7 December 1966), 266; Ex Henri de Nanteuil Collection (1925), 751; Ex Sir Herman Weber Collection (1924), 1988; Ex H. Hoffmann Collection (1898), 1887.
In 360 BC, colonists from Thasos established a settlement called Krenides in inland Thrace in order to work the rich gold mines of Mount Pangaion. Unfortunately, the native Thracian peoples of the interior had their own ideas about who should control the wealth of the mountains and Krenides frequently found itself under attack. At last, in 356 BC, Krenides called for assistance from the energetic Macedonian king Philip II, who successfully beat back the encroachment of the Odrysian Thracians. With the Thracian problem solved, Philip decided that he liked the region and especially the gold that came out of the mines. Instead of departing immediately for home, he established his own fortified settlement, which he named Philippoi, after himself. Philippoi ostensibly served to defend Krenides against any future attack, but wound up absorbing most of Krenides' population and taking over the mines, leaving old Krenides to wither away. This stater visually illustrates this absorption of Krenides into Philippoi as it carries the original Herakles and tripod types used by the Thasian colony but names the Philippians as the issuing authority. Philip II had essentially taken what had previously belonged to the Thasians and made it his own, stamping his name on it. Within two more decades he would be stamping his name on the entirety of mainland Greece, but it would be left to his son, Alexander, to stamp his name on the world.
The Hanbery Collection; Purchased privately from F. Kovacs in 1991. Ex Leu 52 (15 May 1991), 54; Ex Leu 45 (26 May 1988), 113; Ex Hess-Leu 31 (6-7 December 1966), 266; Ex Henri de Nanteuil Collection (1925), 751; Ex Sir Herman Weber Collection (1924), 1988; Ex H. Hoffmann Collection (1898), 1887.
In 360 BC, colonists from Thasos established a settlement called Krenides in inland Thrace in order to work the rich gold mines of Mount Pangaion. Unfortunately, the native Thracian peoples of the interior had their own ideas about who should control the wealth of the mountains and Krenides frequently found itself under attack. At last, in 356 BC, Krenides called for assistance from the energetic Macedonian king Philip II, who successfully beat back the encroachment of the Odrysian Thracians. With the Thracian problem solved, Philip decided that he liked the region and especially the gold that came out of the mines. Instead of departing immediately for home, he established his own fortified settlement, which he named Philippoi, after himself. Philippoi ostensibly served to defend Krenides against any future attack, but wound up absorbing most of Krenides' population and taking over the mines, leaving old Krenides to wither away. This stater visually illustrates this absorption of Krenides into Philippoi as it carries the original Herakles and tripod types used by the Thasian colony but names the Philippians as the issuing authority. Philip II had essentially taken what had previously belonged to the Thasians and made it his own, stamping his name on it. Within two more decades he would be stamping his name on the entirety of mainland Greece, but it would be left to his son, Alexander, to stamp his name on the world.