Philippeioi
The obverse of a gold philippeios, with (short-haired) Apollo.
A Gaulish stater imitating the philippeios' design
Philippeioi (
obverse, and on the reverse, an illustration of a biga, a Greek chariot drawn by two horses.[3] They had the value of one gold stater each.[2] In the first issuing, Apollo was depicted with long hair, but after that the design was altered permanently to one in which Apollo's hair was shorter.[4]
The coins were intended primarily for large purchases outside of Macedonia.continental Greece,[2] and eventually throughout the Western world of the time; stashes of philippeioi have been uncovered in Italy, Constantinople, Southern Russia, Cyprus, Syria, and Egypt. The vast majority of these were actually struck by Philip's successor, Alexander the Great.[2] The philippeioi issued by Alexander after Philip's death continued to use that name officially, though they were often called "alexanders" by Alexander's supporters.[1]
Influence
Considered the most famous coins to be struck by king
boar, or a depiction of the sun god Ogmios.[4] The coins were so widespread that in many ancient Roman texts, the word philippeioi is used generically, to refer to any heavy gold coins.[2][5]
References
- ^ ISBN 0-471-25210-7.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-530574-6. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- ^ ISBN 0-8078-4744-5. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- ^ a b c Greek Coins. Taylor and Francis. 1955. p. 201. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- ^ Psoma, Selene (2009). "Monetary Terminology in Pre-Roman Asia Minor" (PDF). Epigraphica Anatolica. 42: 170, 175–176. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Philippeioi.
- Ancient Macedonian coins, Numismatic Museum of Athens