Macedonian Kingdom Perseus (179-168 BC) AR Drachm NGC MS
Item #CC-0587 | Macedonian Kingdom Perseus (179-168 BC) AR Drachm NGC MS
Mint: Macedonian Kingdom
Ruler/Period: c. 179-168 BC
Grade: MS 5/5 4/5
For details and population on this coin from NGC, click on the serial number here: 8230002-002
Description: Pseudo-Rhodian, Greek mercenaries issue, ca. 175-170 BC, Ermias, magistrate. Head of Helios face is turned slightly right, hair is parted in center and swept to either side / EPMIAΣ, rose with single bud on tendril to right; Ξ-Ω flanking the stem. SNG Keckman 793-795 (Thessaly). Price, Kraay-Mørkholm Essays, pp. 241-242 (Northern Greece). SNG Copenhagen Supp. 358 (Rhodian Peraia). Fresh, crisp strike with strong flow lines on a gleaming flan.
Perseus, the last independent king of Macedon, ascended to the throne after his father, Philip V, had his pro-Roman son Demetrius executed. From the start, Perseus’s reign was marked by an inevitable conflict that would ultimately lead to the downfall of the Antigonid monarchy and Macedonian independence. In his early years as king, Perseus skillfully rebuilt the Macedonian army and forged marriage alliances, actions that alarmed the Romans. The Third Macedonian War began in 171 BC, during which Perseus initially employed effective guerrilla tactics, gaining the upper hand and keeping the Romans at bay. However, like his father, he chose to stake everything on a decisive pitched battle at Pydna, where he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Roman general Lucius Aemilius Paullus. Perseus surrendered and was allowed to live in comfortable captivity in Rome. Following his defeat, the Macedonian Kingdom was divided into four nominally autonomous republics, which were soon absorbed into direct Roman control. Perseus’s coinage is regarded as among the most aesthetically appealing of the Hellenistic period.
In stock
$2,250.00
