ANTIGONUS II SILVER TETRADRACHM – PAN SHIELD AND ATHENA ISSUE OF AMPHIPOLIS – VF NGC GRADED GREEK MACEDONIAN KINGDOM COIN (Inv. 19379)

$1,750.00

19379. MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. ANTIGONUS II GONATAS, 277–239 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm, 17.01 g, 31 mm. Issue of Amphipolis, ca. 229–221/0 BC.
Obv. Macedonian shield with bust of Pan in the center, lagobolon over his shoulder, stellate designs within double crescents around border. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIΓONOY, Athena Alcidemos brandishing shield and thunderbolt left, helmet in lower left field, TI control in lower right field.
Panagopoulou, Early Antigonids, Period IV, p. 199, no. 37 (O11/R35); HGC 3, 1042.
Ex Bob Guynn Collection.
NGC graded VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5.

The standard Macedonian shield (aspis in Greek) depicted on coins of the Hellenistic period and later is a circular defensive weapon with a varying central pictorial device surrounded by a series of crescents and stars along the edge. Shields such as this are also known from Macedonian funerary art, usually with a central star or sun burst, and are often considered to be the shields carried by hypaspists (literally “shield–bearers”)—an elite element of the Macedonian phalanx whose members often served as bodyguards to the king. As such, already in the fourth century BC, these shields were taking on the character of a Macedonian ethnic symbol.

The shield became very prominent on Macedonian coinage during the second reign of Antigonus II Gonatas as Macedonian king (272–239 BC), when it was featured as the regular obverse type for his silver tetradrachms. The image of Pan placed in the center of the shield refers to a spectacular victory over the Galatians that won him the kingship for the first time in 277 BC. The god was said to have appeared during the fighting creating panic among the Galatians, thereby allowing Antigonus to win the day. The shield featuring Pan became the standard type for the tetradrachms of the Macedonian Antigonid dynasty down to the reign of Philip V (221–179 BC), who replaced Pan with a depiction of the hero Perseus. The reverse type of Antigonus’ Pan shield coinage features Athena Alcidemos, a goddess of specific importance to the Macedonian kingdom. Her cult was centered on the city of Pella, which served as the capital of the Antigonid kings of Macedon.