ANCIENT GREECE - GREEK Thrace-Macedonia, tribe of the Bisaltae (6th-5th c. BC). Octodrachm, minted under Alexander I of Macedonia ND (492-480 BC). Av. A soldier (Ares) with petascus and two spears behind his horse. Rv. Quadripartite square. Kent-Hirmer 385 - Kraay, ACGC pl. 27, 493 (Bisaltae) - Svoronos, Early Hellenism pl.12, 6 (Bisaltae) - SNG Lockett 1266 ; Silver - 28,84 g - 29 mm - 12 h NGC : coming soon. Same corner as NAC 133 n° 36. Good centring and high relief strike to the right, the reverse a little crushed. Slight wear, with a slight patina. Superb. Svoronos or Doris Raymond (Macedonian Regal Coinage to 413 B.C., New York, 1953) attribute this type to Alexander I the Philhellene, with a strike around 492 to 480 BC. The type was adopted by the Bisaltae after 475 BC, the date of their conquest by Alexander I. Thanks to the silver mines of Lake Prasias, near Mount Dyrosum and its metal resources, mentioned by Herodotus (7-115), the Bisaltae settled around Amphipolis were able to mint these octodrachms weighing around 29 grams, of which an estimated half a million were minted.