| Heritage World Coin Auctions > CSNS Signature Sale 3115 | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 32187 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Ancients PTOLEMAIC EGYPT. Ptolemy II Philadelphus with Arsinöe II, Ptolemy I, and Berenice I (285/4-246 BC). AV mnaieion or octodrachm (26mm, 27.6 gm, 11h). ANACS XF 40. Alexandria, ca. 270-261 BC. AΔEΛΦΩN, conjoined diademed busts of Ptolemy II and Arsinöe II right, Ptolemy draped, Arsinöe veiled; Galatian shield behind / ΘEΩN, conjoined diademed busts of Ptolemy I and Berenice I right, Ptolemy draped, Berenice veiled. Svoronos 603. SNG Copenhagen 132. Four handsomely rendered portraits on a bright, flashy flan. These pieces were first struck under Ptolemy II (282-246 BC), a brilliant ruler who built the famous Library of Alexandria and towering Pharos lighthouse. In 279 BC he married his sister, the beautiful and ambitious Arsinöe, in the manner of the old Egyptian pharaohs. To mark the occasion, he introduced the largest gold denomination yet seen in the Greek world, the mnaieion, so called because it was worth one mina (100 drachms) of silver, an enormous sum in ancient times. The typology of this dynastic gold issue celebrates the divine status of the deceased Ptolemy I and his wife, Berenice I, and by allusion, the divine status of the living sibling gods, Ptolemy II and his sister-wife Arsinöe II, as well. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-ptolemaic-egypt-ptolemy-ii-philadelphus-with-arsinoe-ii-ptolemy-i-and-berenice-i-285-4-246-bc-av-mnaie/a/3115-32187.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3115-05082024 HID02906262019 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved |  |
