Ancient Coin Stories

While only recently have I started to add cities in addition to rulers, Philippi was one of my few early exceptions. This city, originally called Krenides, was of enormous importance to Philip II when he conquered in in 356 BCE.

The major reason was the mines, and they weren’t just normal mines – but gold mines. Philippi was what enabled Philip (who conveniently renamed it after himself) to mint his famous gold staters. You won’t see one of those on this site because I can’t afford them.

However, I was able to afford this nice bronze from Philippi. Philip II treated the city with major importance, and drained a marsh and performed other works for one of his central cities, conquered even before Amphipolis.

Interestingly, both coins depicts Herakles, who would later grace the famous coins of Alexander the Great. The other side of the Philippi coin depicts a tripod, which is basically what the ancients used when they couldn’t think of something else. They were chairs on which priests would sit, and were not only common and sacred, but also easy to engrave. The Thasian Epeiros coin depicts a club and is similar to the bronze coinage Alexander would later issue.

The city itself had three names. Before 360 BCE, it was known as Krenides. Settlers from Thasos then created a settlement and named it Thasian Epeiros. Coins from that time are rare and I was lucky to obtain my example. Finally, after Philip II took it, the city was renamed to Philippi.

The ruins of the city are now a tourist attraction.