One of Three Known Drachms of Philip VI Andriskos

Triton XVII, Lot: 186. Estimate $20000. Sold for $16000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of MACEDON. Philip VI Andriskos. 149-148 BC. AR Drachm (21mm, 3.35 g, 12h). Diademed head right, wearing a slight beard / BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΦIΛIΠΠOY, Herakles, nude, standing left, holding rhyton in his right hand and club in his left, lion's skin hanging on left arm. Zhuyuetang 119 = Triton III, lot 397 (same obv. die); Berk BBS 127, lot 147 (overstruck on Thessalian League drachm). Good VF, lightly toned, overstruck on a Roman Republican denarius of C. Terentius Lucanus (Terentia 10; Crawford 217/1) with bold traces of undertype still visible including the head of Roma, the Dioscuri, and traces of the moneyer's name [TER] LV[C]. Extremely rare, the third known specimen.

From the RAJ Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 70 (21 September 2005), lot 143; Tkalec (18 February 2002), lot 33.

A remarkable Macedonian regal drachm overstruck on a denarius of C. Terentius Lucanus that Crawford dates to 147 BC (the dating of which should now be revised to circa 150-148 BC). The evidence of the undertype clearly indicates a date substantially later than the downfall of the Macedonian monarchy, which had ended with the defeat of Perseus by the Roman general L. Aemilius Paullus at Pydna in June of 168 BC. The only logical explanation of the existence of a regal type apparently belonging to the 140s is that the piece represents an issue by the Macedonian pretender Andriskos (‘Philip VI’).

Andriskos seems to have been an adventurer from Adramytteion in the Troad. He claimed to be the son of Perseus and Laodike, and thus the legitimate heir to the throne of Macedon. How he attempted to substantiate his claim is unclear, but it was evidently accepted by enough people to elevate his uprising from the status of a minor annoyance to the level of full scale war requiring the intervention of a large Roman army under the command of one of the Republic’s principal generals. Initially Andriskos tried to enlist the support of his uncle, King Demetrios I of Syria who, probably in 153 BC, sent him to Rome to press his claim. The Romans did not take the young upstart seriously and obviously did not regard him as a significant threat. Fearing imprisonment, Andriskos escaped to Asia Minor where he was encouraged in his enterprise by the Macedonian wife of the Pergamene prince Athenaios. Crossing over to Thrace, he received the support of the chieftains Teres and Barsabas who provided him with an army with which he invaded Macedon. Success in various engagements brought further support to his cause and he even began to threaten Thessaly (149 BC). The Romans were, by this time, fully aware of their former mistake and in consequence had appointed P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum to organize resistance to the usurper in Greece. Andriskos, with the overconfidence born of easy success, refused to negotiate with Scipio and proceeded to win a resounding victory over a small Roman army commanded by the Praetor P. Juventius Thalna.

The time had come for a full-scale military confrontation and the Romans called upon the services of Q. Caecilius Metellus (later called Macedonicus), a veteran of Aemilius Paullus’ Macedonian campaign twenty years earlier. Against a large Roman army under a seasoned general, and with the support of the Pergamene fleet provided by Rome’s ally Attalos I, the Macedonian pretender stood no chance of success. His army was routed and the nationalist movement collapsed as suddenly as it had begun. Fleeing from the field of battle, Andriskos made good his escape to Thrace where he attempted to rally support. However, his was obviously a lost cause and he was soon taken prisoner by the Romans. Prior to his execution he adorned the triumph of Metellus Macedonicus through the streets of Rome. With the removal of Andriskos, the first steps were taken in the organization of the territory as a Roman province.

- David Sear