Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Triton XXV 11-12 Jan 2022
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PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy III Euergetes. 246-222 BC. AV Mnaieion – 'Oktadrachm' (26.5mm, 27.75 g, 12h). Posthumous issue under Ptolemy IV. Alexandreia mint. Struck circa 219-217 BC. Bust of the deified Ptolemy III right, wearing radiate diadem and aegis; trident over left shoulder, middle prong ends in a lotus finial / BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY, radiate and filleted cornucopia; ΔI below. CPE 888; Svoronos 1117; Olivier & Lorber dies 3/7, 43 (this coin); SNG Copenhagen 196; BMC 103 (same dies); Bement 1851 (same dies); Boston MFA 2283; Kraay & Hirmer 803; Noeske 137; Pozzi 3239 (same obv. die); Weber 8264 (same obv. die). Lustrous, two miniscule scrapes on edge. EF. Very rare without the usual die rust around the radiate diadem.
From the DMS Collection. Ex LHS 95 (25 October 2005), lot 750.
Ptolemy IV struck an extensive series of oktadrachms for his father Ptolemy III, portraying him with the divine attributes of Helios (the radiate diadem), Zeus (the aegis), and Poseidon (the trident, the middle prong modified with the addition of the Egyptian lotus tip). The syncretization of this imagery has been discussed by numerous authors who offer diverse interpretations, suggesting that it may assimilate Ptolemy III with Serapis, or associate him with Aion Plutonions (a god of wealth, fertility, and rebirth) or Alexander the Great (as a conqueror of the Orient). The totality of the imagery, moreover, "alludes to Ptolemy's great victory over the Seleucids in the Third Syrian War, a theme that was especially resonant during the Fourth Syrian War" (CPE, p. 431) when these commemorative issues were struck.
From the DMS Collection. Ex LHS 95 (25 October 2005), lot 750.
Ptolemy IV struck an extensive series of oktadrachms for his father Ptolemy III, portraying him with the divine attributes of Helios (the radiate diadem), Zeus (the aegis), and Poseidon (the trident, the middle prong modified with the addition of the Egyptian lotus tip). The syncretization of this imagery has been discussed by numerous authors who offer diverse interpretations, suggesting that it may assimilate Ptolemy III with Serapis, or associate him with Aion Plutonions (a god of wealth, fertility, and rebirth) or Alexander the Great (as a conqueror of the Orient). The totality of the imagery, moreover, "alludes to Ptolemy's great victory over the Seleucids in the Third Syrian War, a theme that was especially resonant during the Fourth Syrian War" (CPE, p. 431) when these commemorative issues were struck.