Attractive Portrait of Philip V of Macedon

CNG 103, Lot: 624. Estimate $300. Sold for $800. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

L. Philippus. 113-112 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.86 g, 6h). Rome mint. Head of Philip V of Macedon right, wearing diademed royal Macedonian helmet with goat horns; ROMA monogram behind, Φ below chin / Equestrian statue right on inscribed tablet, holding laurel branch; flower below horse; mark of value in exergue. Crawford 293/1; Sydenham 551; Marcia 12; RBW 1132. Good VF, toned, minor mark in the right side of the field on the obverse.

From the Dr. Lawrence D. Sporty Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group Inventory 928419 (July 2012); Pat Coyle Collection (Goldberg 69, 29 May 2012), lot 3259; Numismatica Ars Classica I (19 May 1999), lot 1415.

Though nearly 150 years removed from his interactions with the Roman Republic, the image of Philip V of Macedon was a clear reminder of Rome’s victories and gains in the Syrian war. Through the usual practice of puns on republican coins, the moneyer here utilized Philip to further allude to his own cognomen, Philippus.