HERITAGE: MACEDONIAN KINGDOM SHOWCASE

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V29 2026 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 29, Number 6, 2026, Article 25

Heritage Auctions will be hosting their Macedonian Kingdom Ancient Coins Showcase Auction on February 9. Select items are discussed below. -Garrett

What was once a small kingdom surrounded by dominate city-states, the Macedonian Empire , in less than forty years, would become the largest empire of the time. It not only defined the culture of the Hellenistic period but went on to shape the empires that followed - most notably, Augustus' Rome. The success of Macedonia is credited to the military abilities of Philip II and his son, Alexander III. While true, it was the strategic use of currency that would be the foundation of the empire's expansion, both for funding expenditures and soliciting their imperial image.

The minting of coinage for use of royal funding began with Alexander I (498-454 BC), whose silver tetradrachms featured parallels to Macedonian warriors. Mintage significantly increased with Philip II (359-336 BC) during his military expansion out of Pella into Thessaly, Illyria, Paeonia, and Thrace. With Philip II came gold staters, displaying not only mythology, but varying symbols which designated the cities in which they were minted. Following the success of Philip II was Alexander III (336-323 BC), whose imperial expansion as far south as Egypt and as east as Punjab made Macedonia the most powerful in the world. The coinage of Alexander III surmounted that of his father, both in quantity and in image popularity. Like his predecessors, Alexander III used mythology to replace his likeness. On his silver and bronze issues, he used the demigod, Hercules, who not only represented a divine familial connection, but a model for Alexander III's own military success. This visual became well practiced, becoming a symbol of the height of Macedonia's supremacy with over thirty mints recorded under his reign.

With the death of Alexander III came the death knell of the Macedonian Empire. During the reign of Philip III (323-317 BC), the empire began to collapse. Eventually it would fracture into five states, each led by Alexander III's generals: Cassander, Lysimachus, Antigonus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus Nicator. Despite the empire dissolving, Macedonian culture remained ingrained in the region, beginning what is now known as the Hellenistic Period. The heroization of Alexander III as Hercules carried into the coinage of this new Macedonia, with his successors, and even individual cities, continuing the visual practice into their own coinage. The coinage of Macedonia is simultaneously diverse and cohesive, capturing the empire's swift rise and ultimate fall - becoming one of the earliest case studies of visual tradition in coinage.

MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. Alexander III the Great (336-323 BC). AR tetradrachm (26mm, 17.14 gm, 6h). NGC AU 5/5 - 3/5, scuff, flan flaw. Late lifetime-early posthumous issue, Aradus, ca. 328-320 BC. Head of Heracles right, wearing lion skin headdress, paws tied before neck / A?E?AN?POY / BASI?EOS, Zeus enthroned left, left leg drawn back, feet on groundline, eagle in outstretched right hand, grounded scepter in left; ? in left field, A above P below strut. Price 3320. Wonderfully, intricate detailing.

Alexander the Great, born in 356 BC in Pella, Macedonia, was one of the most renowned military leaders and conquerors in history. He ascended to the throne after the assassination of his father, Philip II, in 336 BC, and he embarked on an ambitious campaign of expansion. His conquests included the Persian Empire, Egypt, and large parts of Asia, reaching as far as the Indus River in India. Alexander's military genius, charismatic leadership, and ability to inspire loyalty among his troops were instrumental in his success. His kingdom brought about significant cultural and political change, spreading Greek culture throughout the known world. He died in 323 BC at the age of 32, under mysterious circumstances in Babylon, marking the end of his extraordinary reign.

MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. Alexander III the Great (336-323 BC). AV stater (21mm, 8.55 gm, 12h). NGC MS 4/5 - 2/5, scratches, die shift. Ca. 315 BC, uncertain mint. Head of Athena right, hair flowing loose and over left shoulder, wearing pendant earring, necklace, and triple-crested Corinthian helmet pushed back on head, with short intersecting crest ends, bowl decorated with coiled serpent right / A?E?AN?POY, Nike standing facing, head left, wreath in outstretched right hand, stylis cradled in left arm; vertical ?IO monogram in left field, ?P monogram in left field below wing. Price-. cf. 1358 (Lampsacus) and 3171 (Salamis) for similar types. Seemingly unpublished and unfound in sales archives.

Alexander the Great, born in 356 BC in Pella, Macedonia, was one of the most renowned military leaders and conquerors in history. He ascended to the throne after the assassination of his father, Philip II, in 336 BC, and he embarked on an ambitious campaign of expansion. His conquests included the Persian Empire, Egypt, and large parts of Asia, reaching as far as the Indus River in India. Alexander's military genius, charismatic leadership, and ability to inspire loyalty among his troops were instrumental in his success. His kingdom brought about significant cultural and political change, spreading Greek culture throughout the known world. He died in 323 BC at the age of 32 under mysterious circumstances in Babylon, marking the end of his extraordinary reign.

Price 1358, with conjoined horse foreparts in the left field and ?IO monogram below the wing in left field is usually attributed to Nicocereon of Salamis, a Cypriot city-king who supported Alexander while he was besieging Tyre in 331 BC. In return, Alexander permitted him to retain his kingdom. After Alexander's death, Nicoceron supported Ptolemy in overthrowing his other Cypriot city-king rivals of Cyprus who were allied with Antigonos Monophthalmos. Ptolemy was victorious and elevated Nicoceron to king of Salamis, Citium, Lapithus, Ceryneia, and Marion. This unpublished stater, displaying monograms found only on staters from Lampsacus (?IO) and Salamis (?P) may have been struck in after his elevation and perhaps by a celator that worked at both mints or transferred from one to the other to train a new die cutter. The obverse die is typical in style for Lampsacus.

MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. Perseus (179-168 BC). AR drachm (15mm, 2.67 gm, 7h). NGC MS 5/5 - 4/5, brushed. Pseudo-Rhodian, Greek mercenaries issue, ca. 175-170 BC, Ermias, magistrate. Head of Helios facing, turned slightly right, hair parted in center and swept to either side / EPMIAS, rose with single bud on tendril to right; ?-O flanking stem. SNG Keckman 793-795 (Thessaly). Price, Kraay-Mørkholm Essays, pp. 241-242 (Northern Greece). SNG Copenhagen Supp. 358 (Rhodian Peraia).

As the illegitimate son of Philip V, Perseus was threatened by his younger, legitimate half-brother, Demetrius, for the position of heir. Thus, he would forge a letter from a Roman general that warned Philip V of Demetrius' plan to overthrow him. Convinced, he would execute Demetrius. He himself would die the next year, allowing Perseus to take the throne in 179 BC. By 171 BC, he would enter the Third Macedonian War against Rome, which swiftly ended with his surrender to Lucius Aemilius Paullus. He was held captive by Rome for two years until his death in 168 BC - his conditions which are contradicted by Plutarch and Livy. His young son, Alexander, was taken to be raised and integrated into Roman society. Alas, with no other heirs: Perseus' death marked the end of the Macedonian kingdom.

MACEDON UNDER ROME. First Meris. Ca. 167-148 BC. AR tetradrachm (31mm, 16.58 gm, 11h). NGC VF 5/5 - 2/5, smoothing, scratches. Diademed, draped bust of Artemis right, bow and quiver over shoulder; all within the tondo of Macedonian shield / MAKE?ONON / ?POTHS, club of Heracles right; ??YO(?) monogram above, all within oak wreath, thunderbolt in outer left field. SNG Copenhagen 1310-1311 var. (monogram). HGC 3.1, 1103. AMNG III/1, 158. Very rare monogram for this type.

After the defeat of the Macedonian Kingdom in 168 BC, the Roman Republic allowed the empire to become a protectorate. It was split into four administrative districts with capitals in Amphipolis, Thessalonica, Pella, and Pelagonia. To prevent economic growth within the districts, limitations on mining gold and silver were implemented. Only two districts were allowed to mint their own silver without association with Rome - one of them being Amphipolis, the first district or "meris." This period of coinage lasted only for two decades until the districts became a unified Roman province.

MACEDON UNDER ROME. Aesillas, as Quaestor (ca. 95-65 BC). AR tetradrachm (30mm, 16.44 gm, 12h). NGC Choice XF 4/5 - 4/5. Uncertain mint. MAKE?ONON, head of Alexander the Great, with horn of Ammon; T behind / AESILLAS, money chest, club and quaestor's chair; Q in right field, all within wreath. SNG Copenhagen 1330.

Aesillas served as quaestor in the Macedonian province during the transitional period in which Rome established control of Greece. His coins notably united Macedonian and Roman tradition, blending Hellenistic iconography with the ideals of the Republic - most prominently seen on his silver tetradrachms.