| 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. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| 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. |  |
