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November Auction 2015 13 November 2015
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EGYPT, SILVER TETRADRACHM OF PTOLEMY I, signed work by the Master Δ, Alexandria, ca. 290 BC, 14.262g, 12h. BMC 16. Svoronos 255. Lightly toned. Perfectly centered and struck. Choice extremely fine. Tradart 1998 (7) lot 125
Ptolemy was very early in his use of his portrait as a coin type. This is not inconsistent with the Egyptian tradition of divine kingship, but coinage was a Greek institution used primarily by the Macedonian ruling caste: thus Ptolemy's innovation remains both shrwed and daring. His portrait is among the most distinctive of Hellenistic coinage, not only for its blunt, ungainly features but for the frank and forceful character it reveals. The aegis is a divine attribute, and the reverse type reinforces the Jovian identification.
Ptolemy was very early in his use of his portrait as a coin type. This is not inconsistent with the Egyptian tradition of divine kingship, but coinage was a Greek institution used primarily by the Macedonian ruling caste: thus Ptolemy's innovation remains both shrwed and daring. His portrait is among the most distinctive of Hellenistic coinage, not only for its blunt, ungainly features but for the frank and forceful character it reveals. The aegis is a divine attribute, and the reverse type reinforces the Jovian identification.