Lot 51: Macedonian Kingdom. Perseus. 179-168 B.C. AR drachm. Third Macedonian War issue. Uncertain mint in northern Greece, imitating Rhodes, ca. 171/0 B.C. Aristokrates, magistrate.

Macedonian Kingdom. Perseus. 179-168 B.C. AR drachm (15 mm, 2.70 g, 12 h). Third Macedonian War issue. Uncertain mint in northern Greece, imitating Rhodes, ca. 171/0 B.C. Aristokrates, magistrate. Head of Helios facing slightly right / P-O, rose with bud to left; in right field, club; above, magistrate's name: ΑΡΙΣΤΟΚΡΑΤ[ΗΣ]. R. J. H. Ashton, Clubs, Thunderbolts, Torches, Stars and Caducei: more Pseudo-Rhodian Drachms from Mainland Greece and the Islands, NC 162 (2002), -, but dies A25/P51 (die combination not recorded); Tkalec (23 October 1998), 63 (same obv. die); Hirsch 181 (1994), 286 (same rev. die). Lightly toned. Good very fine.

The Pseudo-Rhodian drachms were struck, probably by the Macedonians under Perseus but possibly by the Romans, to pay for Mercenaries from Crete and Rhodes who would have been familiar with Rhodian coinage. The coins in the name of the magistrate Aristokrates with the club symbol in the field is the largest known individual issue of pseudo-Rhodian drachms from the Third Macedonian War, and used at least twenty-nine obverse dies. This particular die combination, A25/P51, is not recorded by Ashton.

• Offered By: Barry P. Murphy
• Lot #: 51
• Listing #: 190218
• Closed: Tuesday, December 13, 2016 4:25:00 PM CT
• Estimate: $150