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Following the reign of Philip II, and conquests of his son Alexander the Great, the Greek Kingdom of Macedon became the most powerful state in the world. Afterwards, Macedon was governed by various royal lineages, the last of which was descended from Alexander’s general Antigonus I Monophthalmus (the “One-eyed”). Antigonus’ great-great grandson Philip V, trying to stem the Roman tide, sent his son Demetrius to be his ambassador. Unfortunately for Demetrius, his growing Roman sympathies led to his execution at the hands of his own family, and it was his brother Perseus who would ascend to the throne in 179 BC upon Philip’s death.
This drachm, minted towards the end of Perseus’ reign, is not the typical Macedonian issue. Although attributed to Macedon, it was probably minted to the south, in Thessaly, and is modeled after the coins of Rhodes: the obverse depicts the head of sun-god Helios facing slightly right, his hair flowing in the wind, and on the reverse is a flower, allusive to the name of the island, from the Greek word rhodon, signifying a rose. Indeed, these coins were specifically produced to entice the infamous Cretan mercenaries, who were familiar with Rhodes’ coinage, to join Perseus against the Romans in the Third Macedonia War. Thousands of Cretans enlisted in Perseus’ troops, and 500 of them were his personal bodyguards.
Mercenaries notwithstanding, the Greeks could not match the up and coming Romans: at the Battle of Pydnos in 168 BC, Perseus was defeated, and spent the rest of his life in a Roman prison. Although probably minted by the thousands, Perseus’ mercenary drachms were melted in the aftermath, thus they are relatively rare today. The Antogone dynasty, and Macedonia as an independent Greek realm, had come to an end.
Coin Details: KINGDOM of MACEDON, Perseus, 179-168 BC, AR Drachm (2.60 g), Third Macedonian War, Greek mercenaries issue, Uncertain mint in Thessaly, Hermias magistrate, struck circa 171/0 BC, NGC Grade: MS, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 5/5, Obverse: head of Helios facing slightly right, Reverse: rose with bud to right, EPMIAS above, Z-O flanking stem. References: Price, Larissa, pl. LV, 247; SNG Keckman 795; Moratta “The Pseudo-Rhodian Drachmas.”