| Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles > Auction 137 | Auction date: 29 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 1044 Price realized: 14,500 USD (Approx. 13,430 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ptolemaic Kingdom. Arsinöe II, wife of Ptolemy II. Gold octadrachm (27.73 g), Died 270 BC. Alexandria, under Ptolemy VI-VIII, ca. 253-246 BC. Diademed and veiled head of Arsinöe II right; above, tip of a lotus scepter; behind, I. Reverse: APΣINOHΣ ΦIΛAΔEΛΦOY, double cornucopiae bound with fillet. Svoronos 471; Troxell p. 44, pl. 7, 2; SNG Copenhagen -. NGC grade Ch XF; Strike: 5/5, Surface: 3/5. Fine style. Estimated Value $12,500 - UP Ex Goldberg Auction 44 (13 December 2008), Lot 3682. |  |
Match 1:
| Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles > Auction 137 | Auction date: 29 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 1046 Price realized: 16,000 USD (Approx. 14,819 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ptolemaic Kingdom. Arsinöe II, wife of Ptolemy II. Gold octadrachm (27.79 g), Died 270 BC. Alexandria, under Ptolemy VI-VIII, ca. 253-246 BC. Diademed and veiled head of Arsinöe II right; above, tip of a lotus scepter; behind, Δ. Reverse: APΣINOHΣ ΦIΛAΔEΛΦOY, double cornucopiae bound with fillet. Svoronos 434; Troxell grp. 3; SNG Copenhagen -. NGC grade Ch XF; Strike: 5/5, Surface: 3/5. Fine style. Estimated Value $12,500 - UP Ex Goldberg Auction 44 (13 December 2008), Lot 3681. |  |
Match 2:
| Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles > Auction 137 | Auction date: 29 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 1045 Price realized: 23,000 USD (Approx. 21,303 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ptolemaic Kingdom. Arsinöe II, wife of Ptolemy II. Gold octadrachm (27.84 g), Died 270 BC. Alexandria, under Ptolemy VI-VIII, ca. 180-116 BC. Diademed and veiled head of Arsinöe II right; above, tip of a lotus scepter; behind, K. Reverse: APΣINOHΣ ΦIΛAΔEΛΦOY, double cornucopiae bound with fillet. Svoronos 1498-9; Troxell p. 67, 8; SNG Copenhagen 321-2. Well struck in high relief and loaded with mint luster. NGC grade Ch AU; Strike: 5/5, Surface: 3/5. Edge marks. Estimated Value $15,000 - UP After the famous Cleopatra VII, who ruled in her own right, Arsinöe II was arguably the most powerful and influential queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Through the development of the dynastic royal cult, she became an avatar of Isis-Aphrodite and and the ultimate source of the legitimate Ptolemaic bloodline.The spectacular Ptolemaic mnaieion was one of the largest gold coins struck in the Greek world, exceeded only by the excruciatingly rare 20-stater gold issue of the Graeco-Baktrian king Eukratides I (171-145 BC). The standard type for the mnaieion was a portrait of Arsinöe II, the sister-wife of Ptolemy II Philadelphos. Their incestuous marriage was a cause of scandal among the Greeks but served to establish an insulated and secure dynasty free from the meddling of foreign kings who might become connected to the Ptolemaic house through marriage. The relationship between Arsinöe II and Ptolemy II also served to elevate them beyond the normal mortal sphere and placed them in the realm of both the Greek and Egyptian gods since Zeus married his own sister Hera as did Osiris marry Isis. The veil and stephane worn by Arsinöe as well as the scepter she carries connect her to the iconography of both Hera and Aphrodite. The latter was often considered a Greek interpretation of Egyptian Isis. The overflowing double cornucopiae of the reverse refers both to the fecundity of the marriage of Arsinöe II and Ptolemy II (much overblown as it turned out since Arsinöe actually had no children by her brother) and to the abundance of the land to be enjoyed under the just reign of Ptolemy II and Arsinöe II, the Theoi Philadelphoi ("sibling-loving gods"). Ex Goldberg Auction 42 (23 September 2007), Lot 119. |  |
Match 3:
| Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles > Auction 137 | Auction date: 29 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 1047 Price realized: 10,500 USD (Approx. 9,725 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ptolemaic Kingdom. Arsinöe II, wife of Ptolemy II. Gold octadrachm (27.43 g), Died 270 BC. Alexandria, under Ptolemy VI-VIII, ca. 180-116 BC. Diademed and veiled head of Arsinöe II right; above, tip of a lotus scepter; behind, K. Reverse: APΣINOHΣ ΦIΛAΔEΛΦOY, double cornucopiae bound with fillet. Svoronos 1498-9; Troxell p. 67, 8; SNG Copenhagen 321-2. Boldly struck in high relief. NGC grade XF; Strike: 5/5, Surface: 2/5. Edge marks. Estimated Value $12,500 - UP Ex Goldberg Auction 42 (23 September 2007), Lot 120. |  |
Match 4:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 1816 Price realized: 11,000 CHF (Approx. 12,504 USD / 11,613 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: PTOLEMAIC KINGS OF EGYPT. Arsinoe II, wife of Ptolemy II, died 270 BC. Mnaieion or Oktadrachm (Gold, 27 mm, 27.53 g, 12 h), Alexandria, 254/3-253/2. Veiled head of Arsinoe II to right, wearing stephane; lotos-tipped scepter in background; to left, Θ. Rev. ΑΡΣΙΝΟΗΣ ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΟΥ Double cornucopiae bound with fillet and with two grape bunches hanging at sides. CPE 388. SNG Copenhagen 134. Svoronos 460. Well centered and clear. Faint cleaning scratches and edge marks, otherwise, good very fine. From the T. Frisbie Collection and that of Robert O. Ebert, Gemini V, 6 January 2009, 690. The impressive Ptolemaic Mnaieia took their name from the fact that they were valued at one Mina (or 100 drachms) in silver. Starting price: 2500 CHF |  |
Match 5:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > Auction XXX | Auction date: 21 March 2024 |
| Lot number: 272 Price realized: 17,000 GBP (Approx. 21,535 USD / 19,828 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Arsinoe II (wife of Ptolemy II) AV Mnaieon (Oktadrachm). Struck under Ptolemy VI-VIII. Alexandria, circa 180-116 BC. Veiled head of deified Arsinoe with ram's horn to right, wearing diademed stephane, sceptre surmounted by lotus over left shoulder; K to left / Double cornucopiae, grape bunches hanging at sides, bound with fillet; APΣINOHΣ ΦIΛAΔEΛΦOY around. Svoronos 1498-9; SNG Copenhagen 322; Troxell p. 67, 8. NGC graded Ch AU 5/5 - 2/5, brushed (#6674413-002). Ex Morton & Eden, Auction 119, 6 December 2022, lot 65 (hammer: GBP 26,000). The daughter of Ptolemy I and his wife Berenike, Arsinoe II was born in 316 BC in the nascent Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt. After a swift political marriage to Lysimachos of Thrace at the age of fifteen, she was married again to Ptolemy Keraunos, her half-brother, but fled Macedon immediately after the wedding to the protection of Egypt, which had passed to her younger brother Ptolemy II. The two gained the epithet 'Philadelphoi' or 'sibling-lover' after they married in 273-272 BC: the practice of sibling marriage was traditional for Egyptian pharaohs, but was known only to the Greeks in deities such as Zeus and Hera. However, their marriage provided a model which was followed by most subsequent Ptolemaic monarchs, and its divine connotations only advanced their power. The image of Arsinoe here portrays a beautiful and serene queen, with considerable attention devoted to her curled hairstyle and the drape of her veil, while her usual attributes of cornucopiae associate her with peace and prosperity. She was considered a capable co-ruler who directed Egypt's foreign affairs, and her death prompted a great outpouring of gold coinage to mark her full deification, emphasised in this portrait by a glimpse of a ram's horn emerging from her veil, reminiscent of the horn of Ammon on images of the deified Alexander the Great. Estimate: 22500 GBP |  |
