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  [Image]                              Item Sold At Auction #12
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                  Web Product ID: 2661
                  Estimate: $750.00
                  Final Sale Price: $577.50
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                  Denomination: Stater
                  Grade: Good Fine
                  Reference: Newell p. 108, 113




  Macedon, Kings of. Demetrios Poliorketes. 294-288 BC. AV Stater (8.57 gm). Amphipolis
  mint, struck circa 290/89 BC. Diademed and horned head of Demetrios right /
  Macedonian horseman cantering right, holding couched spear; monograms behind and
  between horse's legs. Newell p. 108, 113. Near VF, but numerous scrapes, marks, bumps
  and contusions, and a test punch on the reverse. Very Rare! Estimate $750.



  Demetrios' gold coinage consists entirely of Attic-weight staters, issued at first in
  the name of Alexander, but after about 299 in his own name. Demetrios' proclamation
  as king of Macedon gave him control of the mints in Amphipolis and Pella, and wiht
  them he inherited the still unexhausted bullion supplies. In order to finance further
  conquests, he began to turn these supplies into currency. This coin was struck during
  the final years of Demetrios' reign, probably to finance his planned Aitolian
  campaign. The obverse shows the portrait of Demetrios adorned with the horns of a
  bull, the sacred animal of Poseidon. The reverse pays tribute to a traditional
  Macedonian type which had been used on the silver coinages from Alexander I to Philip
  II.