Ancient Coin of the Day: A monster of a coin today, in sheer size at least - a bronze octobol of Ptolemy III Euergetes, ca. 246-222 BC, weighing in at 95.79g. #ACOTD
Image: ANS 1944.100.75945
Image: ANS 1944.100.75945
Ptolemy III emphasised the production of this coin, with an Obverse showing the horned head of Zeus Ammon, with the Reverse design being an eagle clutching thunderbolts in its talons.
The coin of Ptolemy III are renowned for their lavishness, either in sheer size such as the octobol, or in the denomination - such as this silver pentadrachm with the bust of Berenice II, his wife and co-ruler.
Image: ANS 1967.152.626
Image: ANS 1967.152.626
The Reverse of the silver pentadrachm, featuring the queen's cornucopia, also shows the caps of the Dioscuri, divinities with a military connection, which have led to speculation that this coin issue was associated with the Ptolemaic gains in the Third Syrian War (ca. 241 BC).
For more on coins on Ptolemy III Euergetes, see:
Johnson, Carl G. “The Divinization of the Ptolemies and the Gold Octadrachms Honoring Ptolemy III.” Phoenix, vol. 53, no. 1/2, 1999, pp. 50–56.
jstor.org/stable/1088122
#ACOTD
Johnson, Carl G. “The Divinization of the Ptolemies and the Gold Octadrachms Honoring Ptolemy III.” Phoenix, vol. 53, no. 1/2, 1999, pp. 50–56.
jstor.org/stable/1088122
#ACOTD
