PhilipArrhidaeusStater

AU Philip II Stater 359-336 B.C.(8.65g) minted under Arrhidaeus at Colophon 323-317 B.C. O: Hd.of Alexander or Apollo r.; similar to LeRider Pl.90, 16 and Pl.93,26; Thompson 12; Jameson 978(dies) R: Biga r., Tripod below; in ex., PHILIPOY G: Superb FDC S: Edward J. Waddell, Ltd. 2/3/95 This beautiful gold stater belongs to the period following the death of Alexander the Great when his half-brother, Philip III Arrhidaios, was the nominal head of state together with the conqueror's infant son by Roxane, Alexander IV. The gem-like delicacy of the engraving of these extraordinary dies singles this issue out as belonging to one of the mints of the Ionian coastal region of western Asia Minor, an area which, of course, was not controlled by the Macedonian monarchy in the time of Philip II. Kolophon is the city to which it is tentatively attributed, the tripod symbol linking it to an issue in the name of Philip III (cf. Price P41). The issue is likely to have been made prior to 319 BC, when the region came under the control of Antigonos I Monophthalmos.