Watch List notes:

JDL Collection Part II: Geek Coins
ASIA. KINGDOM OF EGYPT.

PTOLEMY III EVERGETES, 246–222. In the name of

Arsinoe II, died in 270/269, wife of Ptolemy II. Maneion (Octodrachm), Berytos c. 246-221, Ptolemaic standard, AV 27.71 g.
Obv. Diademed and veiled head of Berenice II in the guise of Arsinoe II right; border of dots.
Rev. ΑΡΣΙΝΟΗΣ - FILAÄELFOU Double cornucopiae bound with diadem; border of dots.
Literature
BMC Ptolemies, Kings of Egypt 42, 1, pl. VIII, 1 (same obverse die)
SNG Copenhagen -
J.N. Svoronos, op. cit., 1062, pl. XXIII, 21
H. A. Troxell, Arsinoe's Non-Era, MN 28, pl. 10, G
M.-M. Bendenoun, Coins of the Ancient World, A portrait of the JDL Collection, Tradart, Genève, 2009, 40 (this coin)
Condition
Extremely rare. A lovely portrait, minor marks, otherwise extremely fine.

Provenance
Frank Sternberg AG XII, Zürich 1982, lot 334.
When Arsinoe II, the sister-wife of Ptolemy II, died in July, 270 B.C., she was promptly deified and a cult was established in her honor as Thea Philadelphus ('brother-loving goddess'). This was distinct from the Theoi Adelphoi ('sibling gods') cult, which by 272/1 had been established for Arsinoe and her husband. Gold and silver coins in Arsinoe's honour soon followed, starting with silver decadrachms and then, seemingly in about 261/0, gold issues.
The familiar gold octodrachm bearing her name and portrait appears to have been called a mnaieion or one-mina piece, and seems to have been worth 100 silver drachms. They became so po- pular that they were struck not only at the main Ptolemaic facility, but also at a variety of other mints, including the Phoenician & Palestinian mints of Tyre, Sidon, Ake-Ptolemais, Joppa and Gaza.
The chronology of these coins, most of which are undated, is not known precisely, though it may be surmised that a large issue of fine- style pieces commenced soon after her death, and that at various junctures other issues were struck by successive Ptolemaic kings for perhaps 150 years or more. During this time the engraving style changed greatly. The earliest pieces, from the mid-3rd Century under Ptolemy II and Ptolemy III, are of fine style, while the later ones are of a distinctly lower tier of artistry.
The portrait on this example is particularly well engraved. Her status as a queen is attested by her jeweled diadem and her divinity is confirmed by the lotus sceptre at her shoulder and the ram's horn that curls behind her ear. The reverse inscription ΑΠΣΙΝΟΗΣ
ΦΙΛΑℵ?ΕΛΦΟΨ ("[coin] of Arsinoe, brother-lover") celebrates her sibling relationship with Ptolemy II, who issued this piece. The double cornucopia is thought to be the queen's personal badge, yet in a larger sense it symbolized the idea that the Lagid rulers were the source of renewal, bounty and fertility.