Nomos AG
Auction 26 21 May 2023
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MACEDON. Kapsa. Mid 4th century BC. Tritetartemorion (Silver, 9 mm, 0.51 g, 5 h). Head of a bearded man (Philip II of Macedon !) to right, wearing a petasos tied on under his chin and behind his head. Rev. Κ - Α Bunch of grapes on stem with a leaf to right. McClean 7312 and pl. 248, 11 (same dies). Extremely rare. A remarkable coin, struck from dies engraved by an exceptionally talented artist. Nicely toned and certainly the best known example. About extremely fine.
From the "Collection sans Pareille" of Ancient Greek Fractions, and from the collection of A. Ghertsos, Bank Leu 45, 26 May 1988, 108.
Why should a portrait of a king turn up on a silver fraction of an obscure Macedonian city? Why is this not simply a head of Hermes as Grose thought it was when the McClean catalogue was written? The main reason is that this head is clearly an actual individual with the features of a human and not a god. We know that his miniature portrait did appear on some of his earlier tetradrachms and this piece is like them. But why Kapsa? Probably because some wealthy citizen of that city was a partisan of Philip II's and decided to donate an issue of fractions bearing his hero's portrait.
From the "Collection sans Pareille" of Ancient Greek Fractions, and from the collection of A. Ghertsos, Bank Leu 45, 26 May 1988, 108.
Why should a portrait of a king turn up on a silver fraction of an obscure Macedonian city? Why is this not simply a head of Hermes as Grose thought it was when the McClean catalogue was written? The main reason is that this head is clearly an actual individual with the features of a human and not a god. We know that his miniature portrait did appear on some of his earlier tetradrachms and this piece is like them. But why Kapsa? Probably because some wealthy citizen of that city was a partisan of Philip II's and decided to donate an issue of fractions bearing his hero's portrait.