You gotta permit for that thing, son?

AE Octobol of Ptolemy IV, 78g

 

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Thats a nice beast!

 

It looks huge. What's the size? The weight alone could kill someone. Imagine a purse full.

 

WOW...now that coin has some meat on it's bones. Careful with that thing, remember to lift with your legs, not your back.

 

42mm, so not much bigger than the immediately lower denomination, but a little less than twice the weight.

 

Wow. What a handful.

 

Eh? What? You need a permit now!? Awesome chunky JA.

 

LOL, I love big-as coins. Have several Aes Grave, some big Ptolemies, and some big AE's from the Greek world. I always chuckle every time I pull them out to look at them... Everyone's comments above goes through me head every time. LOL

 

Mine is 42mm and a shade lighter at 71.72g

 

I have a Ptolemy III at 67.4g

and this slightly larger one...



Kingdom of Egypt
Ptolemy IV, 221-205
AE Drachm, 40.01mm x 6.5mm thick, 69.46g
Obv: Diademed head of Zeus Ammon r.
Rev: Eagle standing left on thunderbolt
(Struck during Republican Rome's 2nd Punic War)

My Aes Grave Triens is at 90g+

But I remember Ms @TIF has a monster Ptolemy at 95+

And @ancientcoinguru and @rrdenarius have some HUGE Aes Grave / Signatum tipping scales around 300g!!!

 

WOW!!! Great pick-up JA

Love those HUGE dudes.....wonderful posts all!!

Hmm, None of mine hit the 40 mm minimum, let alone 60-70 grams

 

Yep. What it lacks in quality it make up for in quantity (and pedigree). I never managed to take great pictures of it so it's in the "reshoot someday" queue. Actually my heaviest coin is a Carthage 15-shekel (95 gms). This Ptolemy II is wider but a few grams lighter.


EGYPT. Ptolemy II Philadelphus
285-246 BCE
AE48 mm, 91.8 gm
Obv: laureate head of Zeus Ammon right
Rev: eagle standing left on thunderbolt looking right, wings partly spread, E monogram between eagle's legs
Ref: Sear 7782, Svoronos 446
ex Professor James Eaton Collection (collected in the 1800s, in his family until I acquired it )

A better image of the obverse, with a 5 mm Macedonian monkey as Zeus's earring:



A few more large Ptolemaic bronzes:


EGYPT. Ptolemy IV Philopater
221-205 BCE
AE42, 67.9gm
Obv: Head of Zeus Ammon right with ram's horn, wearing taenia diadem
Rev: ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ BΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ, Eagle with closed wings standing left on thunderbolt; Σ between legs; Cornucopiae left decorated with royal diadem
Ref: Svoronos 992


EGYPT. Ptolemy IV Philopater (?)
221-205 BCE
AE40, 64.8gm
Obv: Head of Zeus Ammon right with ram's horn, wearing taenia diadem
Rev: ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ BΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ, Eagle with closed wings standing left on thunderbolt; [cannot discern a monogram but there may be one]; cornucopiae left
Ref: Svoronos 1125 or 1126? Those are a bit larger and heavier though.
ex Professor James Eaton Collection

 

My manhole cover: Ptolemaic Kingdom. Ptolemy IV Philopator. 222-205/4 BC. Æ Drachm (39mm, 65g). Alexandria mint. Series 5. Diademed head of Zeus-Ammon right / ΠΤΟΛΣΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΣΩΣ Eagle with closed wings standing left on thunderbolt; to left, filleted cornucopia; Σ control mark between legs. Svoronos 992(Ptolemy III); Weiser 61 (Ptolemy III); SNG Copenhagen 205-6; Noeske 147-9.

One of the things I find most interesting about them is how they are evidence for some kind of flan-lathing machine that was used to smooth the surfaces of the flan before striking. You can see the circular marks from this machine especially well on the reverse of mine.

 

What a nice bunch of coins. And they all have holes in them. This must have been due to the machining process of these coins.

 

Centering hole for lathing the flans to bring them into weight tolerance.

 

http://www.classicalcoins.com/flans1.html
Every time this question comes up we suggest that you read the above page and those that follow it. It may be more than you really wanted to know but it will explain the central pits and machine marks as well as can be done. Please read it. If you give up on it half way through, you will not get to the part you want but there is enough in the first part that I suggest reading them anyway.

 

Thank you, you guys are the best.

 

Wow , put that in a sock and you have an instant Roman blackjack . Though I don't suppose Romans wore socks ?

 

I read the reference that was put up . . . .

and in it I found
Dimples were created before striking

I disagree with this, (not with Doug, but with the hypothesis in the article), on the basis that if the 'dimples' were created prior to 'striking' then the 'relief' of the coin design would be apparent on the raised edge of the 'dimple', which (after examining many photographs), I cannot find any evidence of.

Just my opinion, but in most examples, that I have looked at, the raised edge of the 'dimple' does not carry any (significant) evidence of the coin relief, which you would expect to find if the dimple was created prior to the 'strike'..

 

Sweet Op-addition, JA

Oh, and great thread additions by the rest of the coin-gang

I have a handful of examples as well (but my two biggest only hover around 40mm and 70 grams)