Nomos 29

KINGS OF MACEDON. Amyntas III, 393-370/69 BC. Triobol (Silver, 12 mm, 1.78 g, 4 h). Head of youthful Herakles to right, wearing lion's skin headdress. Rev. [AM]Y[N]-TA Eagle standing to left, head turned to right; all inside a square linear border within a shallow incuse square. HGC 8.1, 830. SNG Alpha Bank 200 (tetrobol). SNG ANS 94. SNG Copenhagen 513-514. Westermark, 33. Well struck on fine silver. Slightly rough surfaces with traces of corrosion, otherwise, about extremely fine.

From the "Collection sans Pareille" of Ancient Greek Fractions, acquired in 2011.

Most of the known examples of this series weigh between 1.20 and 1.30 gms and are struck in debased silver; they are, thus, considered diobols. The present example, which weighs 1.79 g, is part of a smaller group that is struck in fine silver; it is considered to be either a triobol or a tetrobol on the Thraco-Macedonian standard. The question that some scholars have is whether the purity of the alloy determines the denomination, or whether the denomination remains the same but the fineness indicates different minting periods? In fact, the answer can be found in the study of the regal Macedonian coinage as a whole: the debased pieces were intended for internal use, while the pure silver pieces were minted for use outside the kingdom's borders.