| Heritage World Coin Auctions > NYINC Signature Sale 3113 | Auction date: 8 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 30017 Price realized: 41,000 USD (Approx. 37,376 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Ancients MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. Philip II (359-336 BC). AV stater (18mm, 8.57 gm, 11h). NGC Choice MS 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style. Late posthumous issue of Colophon, under Philip III Arrhidaeus, ca. 322 BC. Laureate head of Apollo right, with features of Alexander III the Great / ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ, charioteer driving galloping biga right, reins in left hand, kentron in right; tripod below at right. Le Rider 265, 16 and pl. 90, 16. SNG Alpha Bank 260. Thompson Philip p. 58 and pl. VI, 12. SNG ANS 309. An absolute gem, with needle-sharp details throughout from glorious, fresh, Fine Style dies. The surfaces gleaming with luster underneath a sheen of light toning. Simply magnificent in hand and tied with a small group for finest certified. From the Wetmore Collection of Gold and Electrum. Ex Leu Numismatik, Auction 72 (12 May 1998), lot 180. While the types of this gold stater issue of Colophon conform to the norm for Philip II (359-336 BC), the magnificent obverse die of this late posthumous issue of Colophon bears a portrait of "Apollo" that is quite distinctive and clearly depicts a real person. Comparison with the coins of Lysimachus and surviving portrait sculpture leaves no doubt the image represents Alexander III the Great himself. The issue seems intended to legitimize the patchwork Macedonian regime put together by Alexander's generals after his death in Babylon under the figurehead rulers Philip III Arrhidaeus, Alexander's slow-witted half-brother, and the infant Alexander IV, his posthumously born son. As such the "Philip" named on the reverse should probably be seen as referring to Arrhidaeus rather than the traditional attribution to Philip II. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-macedonian-kingdom-philip-ii-359-336-bc-av-stater-18mm-857-gm-11h-ngc-choice-ms-5-5-5-5-fine-st/a/3113-30017.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3113-01082024 HID02906262019 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved Estimate: 20000-30000 USD |  |
