Carian Satraps. Pixodaros. Silver Didrachm (7.03 g), ca. 341/0-336/5 BC. Halikarnassos. Laureate head of Apollo facing slightly right, drapery tied at neck. Reverse: ΠIΞOΔAPOY, Zeus Labraundos standing right, holding labrys. Konuk 30; SNG Keckman 280; SNG Kayhan 891-2. Beautiful toning and superb strike, an incredible piece! NGC grade ChAU; Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5. Fine style. Estimated Value $4,000 - UP
Pixodaros was the youngest of the children of the powerful Carian dynast Hekatomnos. In 340 BC, after deposing his sister Ada, he attempted to gain support for his rule by forming a marriage alliance with Philip II of Macedon. He offered the hand of his daughter to Philip, but the Macedonian king declined and instead suggested that Pixodaros’ daughter should marry his elder illegitimate son, Arrhidaeus. However, when Philip’s younger son Alexander III (the Great) discovered the proposal, he feared that Arrhidaeus might become recognized as the rightful heir to the Macedonian kingship. He therefore entered into his own correspondence with Pixodaros and offered himself as a superior match for his daughter. The negotiations fell apart when Philip II realized what Alexander had done. Realizing that he could not form the desired marriage alliance with Philip II, Pixodaros subsequently ensured the security of his rule by marrying his daughter to Orontobates, an influential Persian nobleman. Pixodaros was officially recognized as the Persian satrap of Caria and Lycia, as indicated by a trilingual inscription in Greek, Aramaic, and Lycian dated to 337 BC, but he seems to have died the following year, leaving Orontobates to succeed him. The present didrachm was struck from a die pair that is well known from the famous Pixodaros hoard (CH 9.421), but far outshines any of the pieces in that accumulation in terms of its incredibly sharp strike and beautiful toning.
Purchased privately from Edward J. Waddell, 3 May 2013.