Benefactor kirispupis Posted September 6, 2023 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted September 6, 2023 Recently, I was ecstatic to have completed (for now) my collection of Paeonian kings around the time of Philip II, Alexander III, and the Diadochi. Let's see your Paeonians! Lykkeios has the misfortune to become king right when a guy named Philip was starting to make his name in neighboring Macedon. For most of his reign he was a vassal of Philip. Kings of Paeonia, Lykkeios circa 359-335 BCE AR Tetradrachm 22 mm, 13.19 g, 6 h Astibos or Damastion Laureate head of Apollo to right. Rev. ΛYKK-EIOY Herakles standing left, strangling the Nemean lion; to right, bow and quiver. Paeonian Hoard 72. Peykov E1030 Patraos easily minted the most coins (or at least coins that are still around) of the Paeonian kings. The most common misconception is that the rider is Ariston, who rode with Alexander the Great. This has been thoroughly disproven, partly on the basis that it would have been exceedingly foolish back then for a king to put his brother on a coin and also because the shield of the overrun soldier on many copies is Macedonian. Patraos may have been the son of Lykkeios, but we don't really know. Kings of Paeonia, Patraos AR Tetradrachm 12.46g, 24mm, 1h. Uncertain Paeonian mint (Astibus or Damastion?) circa 335-315 BCE Laureate head of Apollo to right / Warrior on horse rearing to right, spearing enemy who defends himself with raised shield; bukranion to left, ΠATPAOY (retrograde) around. Paeonian Hoard I, 227 (same dies). Audoleon was the son of Patraos and a participant in the Game of Diadochi. He allied with Kassander at one point and opposed Demetrios I Poliorketes. A statue was erected for him in the Athenian Agora. Kings of Paeonia, Audoleon AR Drachm Astibos or Damastion mint(?), circa 315-286 BCE 2.97g, 14mm, 1h. Head of Athena facing slightly to left, wearing triple crested helmet Horse trotting to right; AYΔΩΛEΩN-TOΣ around, monogram below. Peykov E4400; AMNG III/2, 7 var. (position of monogram); SNG ANS 1057 corr. (monogram not star on rev.); HGC 3.1, 154 Leon was a son of Audoleon and steered Paeonia during some difficult times. His coinage is extremely rare and this is the only one I've seen come up for sale. Per a paper by Pavlovska, it's either unique or the second known specimen for this denomination. Kings of Paeonia, Leon Æ 13mm 1.91g, 6h 278-250 BCE Wreathed head of Dionysos(?) to right / Head of lion to left; ΛEΩN to left, sword to right. Cf. AMNG III/11, p. 206 Ex Roma 2017 Leon's son Dropion also minted coins. Per Pavlovska, they are not as rare as those of Leon (97 specimens known to her vs 10 of Leon), but are all in museum collections. 12 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anaximander Posted June 22 · Member Share Posted June 22 To my crushing disappointment, just when I thought I had completed the Paeonian Kings trilogy (Lykkeios, Patraos, and Audoleon) I find this thread with it's fourth king, Leon. Then I check my trusty handbook of Greek coins, coincidentally called The Handbook of Greek Coins (O. Hoover, vol. 3., 2016) to see that there is indeed a fourth king that issued coins, but his name is Bastareus! I'm so confused! It only took me 25 years to get all three of my kings, and now there's another one or even two? 😞 Like Sisyphus, I'll just have to start rolling the rock back up that hill... Here's my trio: Illyria & Paeonia. Paeonia, Lykkeios. 359‑340 BC. AR Tetradrachm (12.80ᵍᵐ 23.1ᵐᵐ 6ʰ) of Damastion or Astibos. Laureate head of Zeus right in dotted border. / ΛΥΚΚ − ΕΙΟΥ, Herakles crouching left, strangling the Nemean lion. Bow and quiver below right. EF. Bt. Louis DiLauro, Coral Gables, 2000. Same dies: HGC 3.1 #142; Peykov E1000; NBRM Paeonia 32. cf. CNG 118 #161. Same obv. dies: AMNG III/2 p.200 #8; Babelon Traite II.4 #1253; Sotheby's Paeonian Hoard 63; SNG ANS 7 #1019. Illyria & Paeonia. Paeonia, Patraos. 335‑315 BC. AR Tetradrachm (12.48ᵍᵐ 23.6ᵐᵐ 7ʰ) of Damastion. Laureate head of Apollo right. / Horseman in crested helmet riding down Macedonian warrior. Π-Α-ΤꟼΑΟΥ. nEF. CNG 51 #219. Same dies: Sotheby's Paeonian Hoard I #439 (#430/439). Same obv. die: AMNG III #5; Babelon Traité pl. 328 #10; HGC 3.2 #148 corr. (some with control marks); SNG ANS 7 #1040; SNG Berry #390; SNG Cop 2 #1390. This is not the Audoleon I thought I wanted. That was the Facing Athena/Prancing Horse tetradrachm sported above, by @kirispupis. Illyria & Paeonia. Paeonia, Audoleon. c. 315‑286 BC AR Tetradrachm (17.18ᵍᵐ 25.5ᵐᵐ 12ʰ) of Astibos or Damastion, 298-286 BC i/n/o Alexander III. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin. / Zeus Aëtophoros enthroned left, holding sceptre and eagle; star in left field. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ. EF. Audoleon was son of Patraus and father-in-law to Pyrrhus of Epirus. CNG Auction 126 #155. Ex Harlan J. Berk inventory cc50840 (ND). Price (Astibus? Paeonia) pl.36 #644; N.M. Waggoner Reflections Issue II dies 10/b (pl.II #10b); HGC 3 #157; BNF Fonds général 589 (same dies); Müller (Acroathon) 154. Waggoner (1983) notes 70 examples. 9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taja1948 Posted June 22 · Member Share Posted June 22 Paeonia. Patraos. 335-315 BC. AR Tetradrachm (12.75g, 3h). AMNG 17; SNG ANS -. Old cabinet tone. Exceptional style for issue. Choice extremely fine. From a European private collection; former J.L. collection; Frank Sternberg 1989 (22) lot 97; Münzen & Medaillen 1959 (19) lot 362; Adolph Hess 1936 (28 April) lot 593; former Mrs. Christitch collection, Brüder Egger 1912 (41) lot 309; former Fenerly Bey collection At the time this coin was struck Paeonia was allied and subject to Alexander the Great - Patraos brother Ariston, father of the later king Audoleon, even commanded a troop of Paeonian cavalry in Alexander's army. This coin is believed to show the moment when Ariston speared the Persian commander Satropates through the throat prior to the battle of Gaugamela. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taja1948 Posted June 22 · Member Share Posted June 22 KINGS of PAEONIA. Audoleon. Circa 315-286 BC. AR Tetradrachm (24mm, 12.51 g, 4h). Astibos or Damastion mint. Head of Athena facing slightly right, wearing triple-crested Attic helmet and necklace / Horse walking right; AYΔΩΛEON-TOΣ above and to right, monogram below. Peykov E4340; NBRM Paeonia 81–3; HGC 3, 151; Dewing 1232; de Luynes 1718; Prospero 324–5; Šeldarov 771; Weber 2242 (same rev. die). Good VF, old collection tone. High relief. Ex CNG Inventory 985752 (October 2014); Stack's Bowers and Ponterio 185 (5 August 2014), lot 272; Olga H. Knoepke Collection (Glendining's 10 December 1986), lot 183; Hess-Leu [15] (7 April 1960), lot 125. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor kirispupis Posted June 22 · Benefactor Author Benefactor Share Posted June 22 3 hours ago, Anaximander said: To my crushing disappointment, just when I thought I had completed the Paeonian Kings trilogy (Lykkeios, Patraos, and Audoleon) I find this thread with it's fourth king, Leon. Then I check my trusty handbook of Greek coins, coincidentally called The Handbook of Greek Coins (O. Hoover, vol. 3., 2016) to see that there is indeed a fourth king that issued coins, but his name is Bastareus! I'm so confused! It only took me 25 years to get all three of my kings, and now there's another one or even two? 😞 Like Sisyphus, I'll just have to start rolling the rock back up that hill... That's a gorgeous trio! I don't have the Handbook but Leon's coinage is discussed here. There's also a fifth ruler - Leon's son Dropion. Per Pavlovska, his coinage is actually more common than Leon's, but until recently I wasn't aware of any that had sold on the market. Leon is also mentioned on Wikipedia. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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