Philip III Arrhidaeus AR Drachm Ionia Kolophon 323–317 BC lyre control

Philip III Arrhidaeus, Drachm, Silver, reign 323–317 BC, struck 323–317 BC at Kolophon; 4.23 g; 17 mm. Anepigraphic obverse with head of beardless Heracles right wearing the lion-skin headdress. Reverse: ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ; Zeus seated left on a backless throne, holding eagle in right and long scepter in left; lyre below eagle; A beneath throne. Struck on a compact flan, centered with complete portrait; reverse shows light surface granularity; control marks clear. Price P44.

Issued under the Macedonian Empire in the unsettled years after Alexander’s death, this Kolophon drachm in the name of Philip III maintained the widely accepted Alexander Heracles/Zeus type on the Attic standard to pay troops and administrators across Asia Minor. The lyre control mark is characteristic of Kolophon and recalls the local Apollo cult at nearby Claros, while the letter A functions as a mint control. Coins of this series reflect the regency’s effort to legitimize authority and preserve monetary continuity during the early Wars of the Successors.