Triton XVII, Lot: 139. Estimate $1500. Sold for $1700. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of MACEDON. Philip II. 359-336 BC. AR Tetradrachm (22mm, 14.42 g, 12h). Pella mint. Struck circa 359-355/4 BC. Head of Zeus right, wearing laurel wreath / ΦIΛIΠΠOY, Philip, wearing kausia, chlamys, tunic, and boots, raising right hand and holding rein in left, on horseback left; HM below. Le Rider 16–22 var. (D14/R– [unlisted rev. die]); SNG ANS 342–3 (same obv. die); Rhousopoulos 1089 (same obv. die). Near EF, faint cleaning marks. Rare early issue.

The youngest son of King Amyntas III, Philip II was as a youth held hostage in Thebes, then the leading city of Greece. While there, he was taught by its famous leader, Epaminondas, in military tactics and diplomacy. After he was allowed to return to Macedon, he became regent for his infant nephew, Amyntas IV, the son of his brother Perdikkas III. Soon after, Philip managed to seize the kingdom for himself and soon expanded Macedonian control over the northern tribes. His future military successes were due to his introduction of the infantry phalanx, which was armed with the sarissa – a spear of about 18 feet in length.

Beginning about 359 BC, Philip's ambitions came into conflict with Athens, which saw itself as the center of Greek culture and democracy. The Athenian orator, Demosthenes, was the most vocal opponent of the Macedonian king, and delivered a series of damning orations, known as the Philippics, against the Macedonian king. The Athenians also sent military forces to assist Philip's opponents. Ultimately, at the Battle of Chaironeia in 338 BC, Philip defeated a coalition of Greek city-states (including Athens and Thebes). At this battle, Philip's son, Alexander (the future Alexander the Great), distinguished himself by routing the Greeks' right wing of cavalry. Now, in complete control of Greece, Philip sought to build a coalition with himself at its head for the purpose of launching an invasion against the Persian Empire. In 336 BC, while preparations for this invasion was still in its early stages, Philip was assassinated by one of his bodyguards, Pausanias of Orestis, and was succeeded by Alexander III.