COINS OF MACEDON BEFORE ALEXANDER

ANCIENT MACEDONIANS were marginal Greeks. Although permitted to compete in the Olympics, the Macedonians spoke a distinctive dialect. While their neighbors were creating novel forms of government like democracy, oligarchy and tyranny, the Macedonians clung stubbornly to archaic tribal kingship.

THRACO-MACEDONIAN TRIBES, The Bisaltai. 475-465 BCE. AR Oktadrachm (28.65 gm). C-IS-A-L-T-I-K-WN, a horseman, wearing chlamys and petasos, and holding two spears, leading horse right; EM monogram on horse's rump / Quadripartite incuse square. AMNG III 3; Raymond pl. II, 2; HPM pl. XI, 4; Traité pl. XLV, 2 var. (legend orientation); Gulbenkian 434 (same dies) ($7500)

Alexander the Great was the third king of his name in Macedon, so we might reasonably wonder who those other Alexanders were. Alexander the Meh? Alexander the Agoraphobic? The Argead dynasty to which our Alexander belonged claimed descent from the mythical hero and demigod Herakles, but the list of rulers begins with the legendary King Karanos, c. 808 BCE. Skip around a little more (more than three hundred years later), and we get to the first Macedonian king to issue coins in his own name, Alexander I (ruled 498-454).

Collecting the Macedonians
Auction catalogs and reference books are arranged according to traditional geographic regions. The category "Kings of Macedon" usually appears after listings for Macedon's tribes and independent cities. Collecting the early kings is a challenge, since many of the coins are so rare. The standard reference in English is Hoover (2016), which is still in print (list price $65).

To read the complete article, see:
CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Macedon Before Alexander (https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/coinweek-ancient-coin-series-macedon-before-alexander/)

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