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| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 165 | Auction date: 26 May 2026 |
| Lot number: 425 Price realized: 110,000 CHF (Approx. 139,435 USD / 120,276 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Ptolemy III Euergetes, 246 – 222 In name of Berenice II. Decadrachm, Alexandria circa 244-221, AR 35 mm, 34.76 g. Head right, with ram's horn, veiled and wearing stephane; lotus-tipped sceptre in background. Rev. BAΣIΛΣΣHΣ BEPENIKHΣ Filleted cornucopiae. Svoronos 1114. SNG Copenhagen –. SNG Lockett 3420 (this coin). CPE 896. Extremely rare and undoubtedly among the finest specimens known. A superb portrait and a wonderful old cabinet tone, minor oxidation and a small area of porosity on reverse, otherwise extremely fine Ex Hirsch XXXII,1912, 595; Naville VII, 1924, Bement (1843-1923), 1850 and Glendining 21-23 February 1961, Richard Cyril Lockett (1873-1950), 2806 sales. The large and complex series of coins issued by Ptolemy III (246-222 B.C.) for a certain Berenice have been intensively studied in recent years. The most distinctive issue is a large silver coin traditionally described as an Attic-weight dodekadrachm (12 drachms), and more recently as a Ptolemaic-weight pentekaidekadrachm (15 drachms). One important question raised in recent years is which Berenice is honoured: Berenice II, the wife of Ptolemy III, or Berenice Syra, the king's sister? The traditional view is that the king's wife is honoured, but Hazard has suggested it may be his sister. He sees the coins as products of the Third Syrian War (Laodicean War), which began not long after the death of the Seleucid King Antiochus II in 246 under mysterious circumstances. His death caused a dynastic crisis, for Antiochus II had two wives, the Seleucid Laodice and the Ptolemaic Berenice Syra, both of whom had borne him children who were considered legitimate heirs to the Seleucid throne. However, when Berenice Syra and her son were murdered in 246, Ptolemaic claims to the Seleucid throne were eliminated and Ptolemy III responded by invading Seleucid territories. His campaign was successful, but ground to a halt when domestic crises forced him to return to Egypt. In 241, Ptolemy III made peace with Seleucus II, who in the meantime had become the new Seleucid king. As laudable as Hazard's suggestion may be, the case for Berenice II, a queen in her own right, is perhaps stronger. She had married Ptolemy III in about 246, the eventful year of Berenice Syra's death, and throughout the Third Syrian War she ruled Egypt in his absence. Perhaps more important, Berenice's portrait bears no symbols to suggest she was deceased. On the earlier coinage for the deceased Arsinoe II, the bust is adorned with the divine attributes of a ram's horn and a lotus sceptre. Neither is present on the Berenice coinage, and though Berenice II was alive throughout her husband's reign, Berenice Syra was deceased. Estimate: 30000 CHF |  |
