Northern Greece, 180-160 BC., Perseus of Macedon during the Third Macedonian War to pay his Cretan mercenaries, undetermined mint, Pseudo-Rhodian drachm, SNG Cop. 790.

Northern Greece (Thessalia, Macedonia), Perseus of Macedon during the Third Macedonian War to pay his Cretan mercenaries, undetermined mint, Pseudo-Rhodian
Drachm (14-15 mm / 2.60 g), 180-160 BC.,
Obv.: facing head of Helios with flowing hair.
Rev.: AINHTΩP (Rhodian magistrate name), rose with two side branch buds, grapes to r.
SNG Cop. 790 ; SNG Keckman 791 ; R. Ashton, A Series of Pseudo-Rhodian Drachms from Mainland Greece, NC 1988, 22, 9 .

In his 1988 article on Rodian imitations, R. Ashton has argued persuasively that this coinage was struck by Perseus to pay Cretan mercenaries serving in his army (see "A Series of Pseudo-Rhodian Drachms from Mainland Greece," NC 1988, pp. 29-30). The Rhodian coinage circulated on Crete, and thus was a familiar and trusted currency for the Cretans, and it is likely that they would have required payment in that form (see also Ashton, SM 146 (May 1987), p. 34).