Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 124 23 Jun 2021
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Magnetes.
Drachm circa 140-130, AR 4.31 g. Laureate head of Zeus r. Rev. Artemis, holding bow in her r. hand and quiver over her l. shoulder, seated r. on galley prow; to r., dolphin swimming downwards and above, ΩΜΥ ligate. In exergue, ΜΑ]ΓΝΗΤΩ[Ν. Furtwängler, Emission F. BCD Thessaly 1, 1186 (this coin).
Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. A very attractive portrait and a
delicate old cabinet tone, good extremely fine
Ex Nomos sale 4, 2011, BCD, 1186.
The types used for the silver coinage of the Magnetes are especially interesting for their obvious imitation of much earlier tetradrachms struck by the Macedonian king Antigonus II or Antigonus III. The Macedonian prototype features the head of Poseidon on the obverse and a representation of Apollo seated on the prow of a galley, often thought to celebrate a victory over the Ptolemaic fleet in c. 258 BC. The Magnetan types play with this model, replacing the head of Poseidon with that of Zeus on the obverse and Apollo with his sister Artemis on the reverse. However, Artemis retains the identical pose, holding her bow in the same manner that Apollo does on the Antigonid model. While the relationship between the royal Macedonian types of the third century BC and the Magnetan drachm types of the second century BC is very clear, there remains some mystery as to why this should be the case since the Magnetan drachm silver coinage only began production after the Roman termination of the Macedonian kingdom in 168 BC. The Magnetans had previously supported Perseus, the last Macedonian king in the Third Macedonian War (171-168 BC), but in this period they appear to have struck only hemidrachms pairing the head of Artemis on the obverse with a galley prow on the reverse. As the drachms seem to end production around 130 BC one gets the impression that the Magnetan drachm coinage was connected with the Roman reorganization and provincialization of Macedonia as well as the conflicts and rebellions (e.g., the Fourth Macedonan War and the Achaean War) that this engendered in mainland Greece, Macedonia, and Thrace.
Drachm circa 140-130, AR 4.31 g. Laureate head of Zeus r. Rev. Artemis, holding bow in her r. hand and quiver over her l. shoulder, seated r. on galley prow; to r., dolphin swimming downwards and above, ΩΜΥ ligate. In exergue, ΜΑ]ΓΝΗΤΩ[Ν. Furtwängler, Emission F. BCD Thessaly 1, 1186 (this coin).
Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. A very attractive portrait and a
delicate old cabinet tone, good extremely fine
Ex Nomos sale 4, 2011, BCD, 1186.
The types used for the silver coinage of the Magnetes are especially interesting for their obvious imitation of much earlier tetradrachms struck by the Macedonian king Antigonus II or Antigonus III. The Macedonian prototype features the head of Poseidon on the obverse and a representation of Apollo seated on the prow of a galley, often thought to celebrate a victory over the Ptolemaic fleet in c. 258 BC. The Magnetan types play with this model, replacing the head of Poseidon with that of Zeus on the obverse and Apollo with his sister Artemis on the reverse. However, Artemis retains the identical pose, holding her bow in the same manner that Apollo does on the Antigonid model. While the relationship between the royal Macedonian types of the third century BC and the Magnetan drachm types of the second century BC is very clear, there remains some mystery as to why this should be the case since the Magnetan drachm silver coinage only began production after the Roman termination of the Macedonian kingdom in 168 BC. The Magnetans had previously supported Perseus, the last Macedonian king in the Third Macedonian War (171-168 BC), but in this period they appear to have struck only hemidrachms pairing the head of Artemis on the obverse with a galley prow on the reverse. As the drachms seem to end production around 130 BC one gets the impression that the Magnetan drachm coinage was connected with the Roman reorganization and provincialization of Macedonia as well as the conflicts and rebellions (e.g., the Fourth Macedonan War and the Achaean War) that this engendered in mainland Greece, Macedonia, and Thrace.