KINGS OF MACEDON. Philip II (359-336 BC). GOLD Stater. Pella.

Obv: Laureate head of Apollo right.
Rev: ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ.
Charioteer driving biga right. Control: Thunderbolt below.

Le Rider 60-132; SNG ANS 130-7; HGC 3.1, 847.

In the Classical period throughout Greece silver coinage predominated, while gold was minted by a few cities. In Asia Minor electrum coins were still struck in three mints (Kyzikos, Mytilene and Phokaia) until the Athenian hegemony that followed the victory over the Persians. In 405 BC the issue of Lampsakos gold staters based on the Persian weight system began. Athens produced the first and only precious metal issues toward the end of the Peloponnesian War, in 407-6 BC, at a time of severe crisis when silver mining in Laurion began to fail and it was forced to melt down the Parthenon's gold statues. Aside from these cases, the first important and massive gold coinage in the Greek context was that of Philip II of Macedon. He minted abundant series of coins in several mints. Having conquered the city of Krenides, where the Thasians had already exploited gold mines, Philip renamed the city Philippi and started the production of philippéioi, gold staters weighing two Attic drachms. Apollo's youthful head appears on the obverse, a galloping chariot on the reverse, types glorifying the Macedonian ruler who had triumphed at the Olympian Games in 356 BC. The series also includes fractions.

Condition: Good very fine.

Weight: 8.63 g.
Diameter: 19 mm.