| Classical Numismatic Group > Triton XXVII | Auction date: 9 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 368 Price realized: 2,250 USD (Approx. 2,061 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter. As satrap, 323-305/4 BC, or king, 305/4-282 BC. AR Tetradrachm (28mm, 15.77 g, 11h). Ptolemaic standard. In the name of Alexander III of Macedon. Alexandreia mint. Struck circa 306-300 BC. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, wearing elephant skin, aegis around neck with tiny Δ in scales / AΛEΞANΔPOY, Athena Alkidemos advancing right, brandishing spear in right hand and wearing shield on extended left arm; to right, helmet, ΔI, and eagle standing right on thunderbolt. CPE 72; Svoronos 169; Zervos Issue 31, dies 531/b; SNG Copenhagen 30; BMC 26. Lightly toned, hairline flan crack, some die wear on obverse. Near EF. Ex GTP Collection; CNG inventory 419724 (December 2015). Ptolemy I Soter, the son of a Macedonian nobleman, was a friend and intimate of Alexander III the Great from boyhood and accompanied him on his great career of conquest, from 333-323 BC. Upon Alexander's death in 323 BC, Ptolemy was granted the prized satrapy of Egypt, the richest of the formerly Persian provinces. Alone among the Diadochi ("successors"), he was content with his sphere of influence and did not risk all to succeed Alexander. However, he was not above using the great conqueror's image and reputation to secure his own position. He hijacked Alexander's funeral cortege as it was proceeding back to Macedon and had his embalmed corpse formally interred at Memphis in Egypt; later the body was relocated to a splendid mausoleum in Alexandria. Ptolemy's early coinage is modeled on that of Alexander and carries the conqueror's image and name, as seen on this remarkable tetradrachm, which shows Alexander wearing an elaborate elephant-skin headdress in honor of his victories in India, backed with a striking image of Athena in a fighting stance. Ptolemy declared his own kingship in 305/4 BC and was the only one of Alexander's Successors to die peacefully, in his bed, in 282 BC, having founded a dynasty that would last three centuries. Estimate: 2000 USD |  |
Match 1:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Triton XXVII | Auction date: 9 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 367 Price realized: 3,500 USD (Approx. 3,206 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter. As satrap, 323-305/4 BC, or king, 305/4-282 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25mm, 15.75 g, 1h). Ptolemaic standard. In the name of Alexander III of Macedon. Alexandreia mint. Struck circa 306-300 BC. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, wearing elephant skin, aegis around neck with tiny Δ in scales / AΛEΞANΔPOY, Athena Alkidemos advancing right; to right, monogram, Corinthan helmet right, and eagle standing right on thunderbolt. CPE 70; Svoronos 164; Zervos Issue 29, dies 518/c; SNG Copenhagen –; Noeske –; SNG Lockett 3393; Weber 8226. Toned, traces of undertype. EF. Well centered. From the JTB Collection. Ex North River Collection; RCM Collection (Triton XVI, 8 January 2013), lot 587; Triton VII (13 January 2004), lot 372. Ptolemy I Soter, the son of a Macedonian nobleman, was a friend and intimate of Alexander III the Great from boyhood and accompanied him on his great career of conquest, from 333-323 BC. Upon Alexander's death in 323 BC, Ptolemy was granted the prized satrapy of Egypt, the richest of the formerly Persian provinces. Alone among the Diadochi ("successors"), he was content with his sphere of influence and did not risk all to succeed Alexander. However, he was not above using the great conqueror's image and reputation to secure his own position. He hijacked Alexander's funeral cortege as it was proceeding back to Macedon and had his embalmed corpse formally interred at Memphis in Egypt; later the body was relocated to a splendid mausoleum in Alexandria. Ptolemy's early coinage is modeled on that of Alexander and carries the conqueror's image and name, as seen on this remarkable tetradrachm, which shows Alexander wearing an elaborate elephant-skin headdress in honor of his victories in India, backed with a striking image of Athena in a fighting stance. Ptolemy declared his own kingship in 305/4 BC and was the only one of Alexander's Successors to die peacefully, in his bed, in 282 BC, having founded a dynasty that would last three centuries. Estimate: 2000 USD |  |
Match 2:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Triton XXVII Online Sessions | Auction date: 17 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 5341 Price realized: 1,800 USD (Approx. 1,653 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter. As satrap, 323-305/4 BC, or king, 305/4-282 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27.5mm, 15.51 g, 12h). Ptolemaic standard. In the name of Alexander III of Macedon. Alexandreia mint. Struck circa 306-300 BC. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, wearing elephant skin, aegis around neck with tiny Δ in scales / Athena Alkidemos advancing right; to right, monogram, Corinthan helmet right, and eagle standing right on thunderbolt. CPE 70; Svoronos 164; Zervos Issue 29, dies 515/h; SNG Copenhagen –. Toned, numerous light scratches, chip at edge on obverse, graffiti in field on reverse. Near EF. Ex Vinchon (2 May 1973), lot 141. Estimate: 1000 USD |  |
Match 3:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 126 | Auction date: 28 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 363 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | |
| Lot description: PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter. As satrap, 323-305/4 BC or king, 305/4-282 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27.5mm, 15.75 g, 1h). Ptolemaic standard. In the name of Alexander III of Macedon. Alexandreia mint. Struck circa 306-300 BC. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, wearing elephant skin, aegis around neck / Athena Alkidemos advancing right; small round shield to inner left; to right, helmet, ΔI, and eagle standing right on thunderbolt. CPE 74; Svoronos 176; Zervos Issue 32 (dies 532/a – this coin referenced); SNG Copenhagen –; Künker 111, lot 6343 = Banque Populaire du Nord FPL April 1987, no. 258 (same dies). Attractive old collection tone, hairline flan crack, minor area of flat strike at edge on reverse. EF. Extremely rare issue, one of only six noted by Zervos, with one additional in CoinArchives; five are in museum collections (Alexandria [Graeco-Roman Museum], Berlin [Staatliche Museen, 2 coins], New York [ANS], and Paris [BN]). From the Wild Rose Collection. Ex Triton XXII (8 January 2019), lot 403; Santamaria (24 January 1938), lot A168; Richard Cartwright Collection (Münzhandlung Basel 4, 1 October 1935), lot 949. Lot also includes two old collection tickets. Estimate: 2000 USD |  |
Match 4:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 126 | Auction date: 28 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 364 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot | |
| Lot description: PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter. As satrap, 323-305/4 BC, or king, 305/4-282 BC. AR Tetradrachm (28.5mm, 15.69 g, 1h). Ptolemaic standard. In the name of Alexander III of Macedon. Alexandreia mint. Struck circa 306-300 BC. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, wearing elephant skin, aegis around neck with tiny Δ in scales / Athena Alkidemos advancing right; to right, monogram, Corinthan helmet right, and eagle standing right on thunderbolt. CPE 70; Svoronos 164; Zervos Issue 29, dies 517/b; SNG Copenhagen –; Noeske –; SNG Lockett 3393; Weber 8226 (same obv. die). Deep cabinet tone, with some iridescence, minor marks, slight die shift and graffiti in fields on reverse. Good VF. From the Mesogeios Collection. Estimate: 1000 USD |  |
Match 5:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 552 | Auction date: 13 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 129 Price realized: 375 USD (Approx. 348 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter. As satrap, 323-305/4 BC, or king, 305/4-282 BC. Æ Hemiobol (19.5mm, 5.32 g, 12h). Alexandreia mint. Series 2B, circa 306-294 BC. Diademed head of the deified Alexander III right, with horn of Ammon / Eagle, wings spread, standing left on thunderbolt; to left, aphlaston above helmet. CPE B23; Svoronos 172; SNG Copenhagen 36–7. Attractive brown surfaces, light roughness, minor flan flaws, small mark on obverse. VF. From the DMS Collection. Estimate: 100 USD |  |
