MACEDON / THESSALY. Philotas, Tribal Chieftan / King. Circa 400-380 BC. Æ 14mm (3.05 gm, 3h). Head of young Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress /
FILW, eagle standing right on thunderbolt, head reverted. Wartenberg,
Philotas 4c (O1/R4 this coin); Rogers,
Copper Coinage of Thessaly, pg. 17, 3 (uncertain Thessalian issue); SNG Copenhagen -. Good VF, glossy dark brown patina. Extremely rare, only 19 specimens known to Wartenberg.
Wartenberg attributes this rare bronze issue to Philotas, father of Parmenion who was general and confidante of Phillip II and Alexander III. What little we know of Parmenion suggests he was of a minor Macedonian royal house, and this coin was probably an issue of his father as a tribal chieftain or "king" in the area of Southern Macedon or Northern Thessaly. It appears that the weights of coins 4b and 4c in Wartenberg's listing have been confused.
