Avatar Note: Silver relief portrait of Helios (Greek Sun God, guardian of oaths and god of sight) three-quarter facing right, hair flowing in the wind. Coin created about 175-170 BC. Although the attribution of this issue has been debated, it seems likely that it was struck by Perseus, son of king Philip V of Macedon (Cited from: www.cointalk.com/threads/rhodian-imitations-during-the-th...) to pay Cretan mercenaries, who would have been familiar with Rhodian issues, in the Third Macedonian War against the Romans.The Romans won and destroyed the ancient Macedonian kingdom.

As to why this coin has not been lost to the ages, perhaps it may have been hidden/lost by its original owner before the "Plundering of Epirus" in 167BC, then recovered during our modern times.

"... the reason for the sack of Epirus in 167 BC. C, ordered by the Senate and executed by Lucio Emilio Paolo. Recent explanations that seek this reason in political reasons or in the memory of the Pyrrhic invasion are not convincing. To explain a decision that resulted in the largest manhunt in the history of Rome (150,000 prisoners), one should consider the great demand for slave labor, a consequence of the development of the slave economy in Italy after the second Punic War. According to the author, the sack of Epirus must be related to the decrease in the population of slaves in Italy, caused by the great plague of 175-174 BC. This deficit was further aggravated by the conciliatory policy advocated by the Senate towards neighboring states in sight of the upcoming war with Perseus and from the failures of the first years of the Macedonian war. The decision of the Senate aimed at solving the shortage of slaves in Italy: the choice fell on Epirus because it was the last stop on the journey of Paul, executor of the senatorial order, and close to the large ports of Brindisi and Taranto."