Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 116 1 Oct 2019
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Antigonus Gonatas II, 277 – 239
Stater, Pella circa 272, AV 8.59 g. Head of Athena r., wearing Corinthian helmet decorated with coiled snake. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ – ANTIΓONOY Nike standing to l., holding stylis in l. hand and aplustre in r.; below in the l. inner field, wreath. AMNG III, 1-2 and pl. 32, 21. De Luynes 1689 (these dies). Hunterian 1 (Antigonus I). R.W. Mathisen, Antigonus Gonatas and the Silver Coinages of Macedonia circa 280-270 B.C., ANSMN 26, 1981, pl. 21, 35.
Extremely rare, less than ten specimens recorded. A very interesting and historically
important issue, almost invisible marks, otherwise about extremely fine
Ex Sotheby's 21-22 June 1990, Hunt, 390 and New York XXVII, 2012, Prospero, 314 sales.
This rare stater features the widely popular types of Athena and Nike first introduced for the gold coinage of Alexander the Great, but with two notable alterations. The legend does not name the long-dead Alexander, but rather the reigning Antigonid king of Macedon, Antigonos II Gonatas, and replaces the wreath normally held by Nike with an aphlaston. This stater type is sometimes associated with payments made to Galatian (Celtic) mercenaries during Antigonos II's drawn-out struggle with Pyrrhos of Epeiros for the Macedonian kingdom following the latter's return from Italy in 274 BC. Although Antigonos II strongly opposed the entry of Pyrrhos' forces into Macedon at the Aoos River, Pyrrhos defeated him. The mercenaries in the employ of the Macedonian king then promptly changed sides and joined Pyrrhos. Antigonos II was forced to cede the heartland of the Macedonian kingdom to Pyrrhos, but retained the Macedonian coast and continued to claim the royal title. Two years later Pyrrhos was killed while campaigning against Argos, leaving Antigonos II to assume power over the entirety of Macedon. It is a testament to the king's character that when the head of Pyrrhos was brought to him he is said to have reacted angrily to the death of such a worthy foe and ordered a proper funeral for the Epeirote king. While the financing of the conflict against Pyrrhos may lie behind this stater issue, the replacement of the wreath with an aphlaston in Nike's hand tends to suggest a naval context. In this case it seems rather more probable that this stater type was produced in the aftermath of one of Antigonos II's victories against the Ptolemaic fleet. The most likely candidates are the Battle of Kos (variously dated between 258 and 254 BC), which was celebrated by the dedication of the king's flagship to Apollo at Delos, and the Battle of Andros (c. 246/5 BC), which almost completely shattered Ptolemaic naval power in the Aegean.
Stater, Pella circa 272, AV 8.59 g. Head of Athena r., wearing Corinthian helmet decorated with coiled snake. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ – ANTIΓONOY Nike standing to l., holding stylis in l. hand and aplustre in r.; below in the l. inner field, wreath. AMNG III, 1-2 and pl. 32, 21. De Luynes 1689 (these dies). Hunterian 1 (Antigonus I). R.W. Mathisen, Antigonus Gonatas and the Silver Coinages of Macedonia circa 280-270 B.C., ANSMN 26, 1981, pl. 21, 35.
Extremely rare, less than ten specimens recorded. A very interesting and historically
important issue, almost invisible marks, otherwise about extremely fine
Ex Sotheby's 21-22 June 1990, Hunt, 390 and New York XXVII, 2012, Prospero, 314 sales.
This rare stater features the widely popular types of Athena and Nike first introduced for the gold coinage of Alexander the Great, but with two notable alterations. The legend does not name the long-dead Alexander, but rather the reigning Antigonid king of Macedon, Antigonos II Gonatas, and replaces the wreath normally held by Nike with an aphlaston. This stater type is sometimes associated with payments made to Galatian (Celtic) mercenaries during Antigonos II's drawn-out struggle with Pyrrhos of Epeiros for the Macedonian kingdom following the latter's return from Italy in 274 BC. Although Antigonos II strongly opposed the entry of Pyrrhos' forces into Macedon at the Aoos River, Pyrrhos defeated him. The mercenaries in the employ of the Macedonian king then promptly changed sides and joined Pyrrhos. Antigonos II was forced to cede the heartland of the Macedonian kingdom to Pyrrhos, but retained the Macedonian coast and continued to claim the royal title. Two years later Pyrrhos was killed while campaigning against Argos, leaving Antigonos II to assume power over the entirety of Macedon. It is a testament to the king's character that when the head of Pyrrhos was brought to him he is said to have reacted angrily to the death of such a worthy foe and ordered a proper funeral for the Epeirote king. While the financing of the conflict against Pyrrhos may lie behind this stater issue, the replacement of the wreath with an aphlaston in Nike's hand tends to suggest a naval context. In this case it seems rather more probable that this stater type was produced in the aftermath of one of Antigonos II's victories against the Ptolemaic fleet. The most likely candidates are the Battle of Kos (variously dated between 258 and 254 BC), which was celebrated by the dedication of the king's flagship to Apollo at Delos, and the Battle of Andros (c. 246/5 BC), which almost completely shattered Ptolemaic naval power in the Aegean.