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Greek Coins :
Macedonian Coins : Silver Tetradrachm Depicting King Philip V
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Silver Tetradrachm Depicting King Philip V - C.3021
Origin: Mediterranean
Circa: 221
BC
to 179
BC
Collection: Numismatics
Medium: Silver
Additional Information: SOLD
$9,000.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
Obverse: Diademed Head of the King with Beard
Facing Right
Reverse: Athena Alkidemos Facing Left, Holding
Thunderbolt and Shield
Philip V was one of the last great Macedonian
sovereigns ruling from 221 to 179, whose attempt
to extend Macedonian influence throughout
Greece resulted in his defeat by Rome. Philip
assumed the throne at the age of seventeen and
quickly won renown by supporting the Hellenic
League in its war against Sparta, Aetolia, and Elis
(220-217). Later, after the defeat of the Romans
at Cannae, he completed a treaty with Hannibal in
215. Philip, allied with Hannibal, attacked the
Roman client states in Illyria and initiated 10 years
of inconclusive warfare against Rome, known as
the First Macedonian War. The Romans countered
his moves with an alliance with the Greek cities of
the Aetolian League, but Philip effectively aided
his allies. When the Romans withdrew in 207, he
forced an independent settlement upon Aetolia
(206) and concluded the war with Rome on
favorable terms. Philip then plotted against
Rhodes and in 203-202 conspired with Antiochus
III of Syria to plunder the possessions of the
Egyptian king Ptolemy V. But the people of
Rhodes and Pergamum defeated Philip at sea off
Chios and so exaggerated reports of his
aggression that Rome decided to declare war
again, thus igniting the Second Macedonian War.
Successive Roman campaigns in Macedonia and
Thessaly shook Philip's position in Greece, and in
197 the Romans decisively defeated him at
Cynoscephalae in Thessaly. Until 189, Philip aided
Rome against her enemies on the Greek peninsula.
Philip devoted the last decade of his life to
consolidating his kingdom. He reorganized
finances, transplanted populations, reopened
mines, and issued central and local currencies
such as this coin.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or your purse? What eras and lands have
the coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who touched the coin before us, or where the coin
will venture to after us. More than money, coins
are a symbol of the state that struck them, of a
specific time and place, whether contemporary
currencies or artifacts of long forgotten empires.
This stunning hand-struck coin reveals an
expertise of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural
detail that is often lacking in contemporary
machine-made currencies. This coin is a
memorial an ancient king and his kingdom passed
from the hands of civilization to civilization, from
generation to generation that still appears as
vibrant today as the day it was struck.
- (C.3021)
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