Sale: CNG 64, Lot: 171. Estimate $1000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 24 September 2003.  Sold For $850. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

DYNASTS of THESSALY. Alexander of Pherae. 369-358 BC. AR Drachm (5.16 gm). Head of Hekate right / [ALEX]ANDROU, roaring lion's head right. BMC Thessaly pg. 47, 15; Kraay, ACGC, 389; cf. Weber 2923. Toned VF. Rare. ($1000)

Alexander was the nephew of Jason, tyrant of Pherae c. 385-370 BC, who gained control of all Thessaly, evidently with the aim of establishing hegemony over Greece. Upon Jason's assassination, Alexander gained the succession but failed to unite the potentially strong but feud-prone Thessalians. What Jason and Alexander attempted without success foreshadowed, and may even have been the model for, the accomplishments of Philip II of Macedon.