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Long Beach Signature Sale 3067 6-7 Sep 2018
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MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. Demetrius I Poliorcetes (306-283 BC). AR tetradrachm (26mm, 17.16 gm, 1h). NGC XF 5/5 - 4/5. Amphipolis, 289-288 BC. Diademed head of Demetrius I right, with bull's horn / BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ΔHMHTPIOY, Poseidon standing left, grounded trident in left hand, right foot on rock; EPK monogram in outer left field. Newell 89. Attractive portrait. Well struck from fresh dies in exceptional metal.
From the Collection of a Philhellene. Ex Gorny & Mosch, Auction 169 (October 2008), lot 87, with tag.
The most dashing of Alexander's successors, Demetrius I Poliorcetes was the son of the great Macedonian general Antigonus Monopthalmus ("one-eyed"), who served both Philip II and Alexander III the Great. After Alexander's death, Demetrius led armies in support of his father's claim to supreme power. He won a signal naval victory in 306 BC at Salamis against the Ptolemaic fleet and, along with his father, accepted the title Basileos ("king"), ending the fiction that the Diadochi were ruling a united government. In 305 BC Demetrius subjected Rhodes to a titanic siege, employing the largest and most elaborate artillery engines and battle towers yet constructed. Ultimately unsuccessful, the siege still won him the epithet Poliorcetes ("besieger") by which he is still known. He had more success ruling Macedon 301-288 BC, but his extravagance and capricious nature eventually proved his undoing and he spent his waning years in comfortable Seleucid captivity. The dynasty he established endured in Macedon until 168 BC. His handsome visage is clearly shown on this striking tetradrachm of Amphipolis; he adopts a bull's horn as a symbol of divinity, counterpoint to the ram's horn seen on the coins struck by his rival Lysimachus. The reverse image of Poseidon recalls the naval victory at Salamis.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 1500-2000 USD
MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. Demetrius I Poliorcetes (306-283 BC). AR tetradrachm (26mm, 17.16 gm, 1h). NGC XF 5/5 - 4/5. Amphipolis, 289-288 BC. Diademed head of Demetrius I right, with bull's horn / BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ΔHMHTPIOY, Poseidon standing left, grounded trident in left hand, right foot on rock; EPK monogram in outer left field. Newell 89. Attractive portrait. Well struck from fresh dies in exceptional metal.
From the Collection of a Philhellene. Ex Gorny & Mosch, Auction 169 (October 2008), lot 87, with tag.
The most dashing of Alexander's successors, Demetrius I Poliorcetes was the son of the great Macedonian general Antigonus Monopthalmus ("one-eyed"), who served both Philip II and Alexander III the Great. After Alexander's death, Demetrius led armies in support of his father's claim to supreme power. He won a signal naval victory in 306 BC at Salamis against the Ptolemaic fleet and, along with his father, accepted the title Basileos ("king"), ending the fiction that the Diadochi were ruling a united government. In 305 BC Demetrius subjected Rhodes to a titanic siege, employing the largest and most elaborate artillery engines and battle towers yet constructed. Ultimately unsuccessful, the siege still won him the epithet Poliorcetes ("besieger") by which he is still known. He had more success ruling Macedon 301-288 BC, but his extravagance and capricious nature eventually proved his undoing and he spent his waning years in comfortable Seleucid captivity. The dynasty he established endured in Macedon until 168 BC. His handsome visage is clearly shown on this striking tetradrachm of Amphipolis; he adopts a bull's horn as a symbol of divinity, counterpoint to the ram's horn seen on the coins struck by his rival Lysimachus. The reverse image of Poseidon recalls the naval victory at Salamis.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 1500-2000 USD