PTOLEMY II PHILADELPHOS

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Bing, Oct 13, 2019.

  1. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    I've looked at so many of CT member's Egyptian Tets over the years, but until now, never pulled the trigger. A seller I've purchased from in the past offered me a good deal on this example. It came to me entombed, so for Halloween I entered the tomb and revived this Egyptian to fresh air much like the mummy was revived at an archaeological dig in the ancient city of Hamunaptra.
    th__1570998973_47.198.243.248.jpg

    Ptolemy II Philadelphus (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Φιλάδελφος, Ptolemaĩos Philádelphos" 309 BC-246 BC), was the king of Ptolemaic Egypt from 283 BC to 246 BC. He was the son of the founder of the Ptolemaic kingdom Ptolemy I Soter and Berenice, and was educated by Philitas of Cos. He had two half-brothers, Ptolemy Keraunos and Meleager, both of whom became kings of Macedonia (in 281 BC and 279 BC respectively). Both died in the Gallic invasion of 280-279 BC.

    Son of Ptolemy I, he was made co-ruler by his father two years before the latter's death, thus ensuring a smooth succession. His long reign was a period of growing prosperity for his kingdom, and the capital city of Alexandria was embellished with many splendid new buildings - the Pharos, the Museum and the Library being foremost. He was twice married: in circa 288 B.C. to Arsinoe I, daughter of Lysimachos of Thrace; and about twelve years later to his own sister, Arsinoe II.

    Entombed
    Ptolemy II OBV slab 1.jpg
    Ptolemy II REV slab 1.jpg

    And resurrected:
    Ptolemy II.png
    PTOLEMY II PHILADELPHOS
    AR Tetradrachm
    OBVERSE: Diademed head of Ptolemy II right, wearing aegis around neck
    REVERSE: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ [ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ], eagle standing left on thunderbolt, to left, club surmounted by Tyre monogram
    Tyre 285-260 BC
    25 mm., 14.14 grams
    Svoronos 644; SNG Copenhagen 482-3
     
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  3. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    Great coin @Bing. Congrats. Freed from his tomb by magic spells Ptolemy II has come to life!
     
    7Calbrey likes this.
  4. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    Nice one Bing! I really love those countermark/banker's marks. They add a lot of appeal in my opinion.

    I have a similar one to yours, with some extra letters/monograms on the reverse:

    Ptolemy II tetradrachm 1995 (0).jpg

    Ptolemy II Philadelphos Tetradrachm
    Tyre mint

    (Year 34 = 252-251 B.C.)

    Diademed head Ptolemy I / ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ, Eagle std. left on thunderbolt; civic monogram above club l.; ΛΔ above monogram r. ; ΔI between legs.
    Svoronos 682; BMC p. 31, 93.
    (14.15 grams / 26 mm)
     
    Pishpash, Andres2, octavius and 13 others like this.
  5. Ancient Aussie

    Ancient Aussie Well-Known Member

    Great coin Bing with fantastic detail and nice silver.
     
  6. ValiantKnight

    ValiantKnight Well-Known Member

    Ptolemy II, Ptolemaic Kingdom
    AR tetradrachm
    Obv: Diademed head of Ptolemy I right, wearing aegis
    Rev: ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ, eagle standing left on thunderbolt, monogram in left field, shield in front of eagle
    Mint: Alexandria
    Date: 285-246 BC
    Ref: Svoronos 574

    [​IMG]
     
    Pishpash, Andres2, PeteB and 15 others like this.
  7. Jwt708

    Jwt708 Well-Known Member

    He does look rather ghoulish...nice one Bing!
     
  8. randygeki

    randygeki Coin Collector

    Nice! Mines still sufacting.
    IMG_3978.jpg
     
    Pishpash, Andres2, octavius and 12 others like this.
  9. Chris B

    Chris B Supporter! Supporter

    Is that a tear on his cheek? That's what I see.

    Ptolemy II Philadelphus
    285-246 BC)
    26mm, 13.26 gm
    AR stater or tetradrachm

    Greece Ptolemy 285 03.jpg
    Greece Ptolemy 285 04.jpg

    Ptolemy II Philadelphus
    AR stater or tetradrachm
    (25mm, 14.21 gm, 12h)

    Greece Ptolemy 285 13.jpg
    Greece Ptolemy 285 14.jpg
     
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  10. Yorkshire

    Yorkshire Well-Known Member

  11. Ryro

    Ryro Trying to remove supporter status

    Wonderful acquisition! And just in time for the holiday!
    I've been looking for one of these for a while now, but none over here.
    Both Alexander the great and Ptolemy have those thick brows. It really adds credence to the idea that they were half brothers (through Philip of course).
    Anyway, here's my only Ptolemy 2 (I think):
    8893582C-B582-43C5-A063-167AC59D765B.png
    Ptolemy II Philadelphos
    (285-246 BCE) - AE27 (19.47 MM 4.87 gm.) - Diademed head of Zeus Ammon right / Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, between legs A (year 1 = 271-270 BC) (Svor. 610 Weiser 18)
     
  12. dadams

    dadams Well-Known Member

    Nice Ptolemaic Silver @Bing and I'm glad you've woken him up out of his entombed sleep. I've only got a couple bronzes including this PII of the Tyre Club Series:
    ptolemy II.jpg
    31mm, 22.5g
     
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  13. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    ..a very worthy collective Bing :)..and now you're no longer in the 'too tight for tets' club :D)
     
  14. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    Great coin @Bing . Very appropriate for the Halloween season :vamp::mask::hungover:
     
  15. ancient times

    ancient times Legatus Legionis

    Very nice, I personally prefer the coins in so called tombs, for easy storage and protection!
     
  16. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    To each his/her own. I prefer holding a coin, especially knowing I cannot hurt a coin that was buried for 2000 years. I have some modern coins (not many), that I cannot touch which is one of the reasons I gravitated to Ancients.
     
    octavius and dadams like this.
  17. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Super nice, @Bing ! Really looks like his dad, and I really like the bankers marks.

    Nice you freed it! I never understood entombing them (ancient glory), into plastic boxes. Takes up WAY too much space, and I cannot handle them like they had for so many years.

    Here is one of my PII's:

    Egypt Ptolemy II 285-274 BC AE Obol 20mm 6.7g  Alex III Eagle Tbolt Plain SV 601.JPG
    Egypt Ptolemy II 285-274 BC AE Obol 20mm 6.7g Alex III Eagle Tbolt Plain SV 601
     
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  18. ancient times

    ancient times Legatus Legionis

    Does a certified coin increases the value?
     
  19. octavius

    octavius Well-Known Member

    That is truly an impressive coin, Bing. I have wanted to add Ptolemaic bronze to my collection, but how do you tell one Ptolemy from another? Is it the symbols on the reverse that were unique to a specific Ptolemy?
     
  20. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    We've had this type of discussion many times on CT. First, NGC does not certify that any given coin is authentic. Certainly, they have experts looking at each coin before they encapsulate, and this is appealing to many collectors especially new collectors of Ancients. Does it increase the value? Perhaps. But it also increases the cost of a coin.

    I'm the wrong person to answer this question. I'm just simply not that familiar with Ptolemy coins. In this case, the coin was identified by both the seller and NGC. I didn't look any further.
     
    ancient times and octavius like this.
  21. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    Attribution of the vast numbers of similar-looking Ptolemaic coins has gone through changes over the years. Recently a new body of work was released which rearranged things yet again. I still haven't ordered the books-- maybe I'll buy it for myself for Christmas.

    Determination of which Ptolemy issued which coins is complicated and does rely on those minor symbols and other information.

    For now I depend on the PtolemyBronze website for the bronze coins, which has been updated to reflect the Lorber work. For silver coins (I have no gold), I depend mostly on recent sales of similar coins in CNG's archives.

    Nice acquisition, Bing! :)

    Here's Ptolemy Soter portrait tet picked up at a coin show several years ago, or at least I hope it's still thought to be from Soter...

    [​IMG]
    PTOLEMIC KINGS OF EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter
    Struck c. 300-285 BCE, Alexandreia mint
    AR tetradrachm, 28 mm, 13.92 gm
    Obv: diademed head right, wearing aegis around neck, tiny Δ behind ear
    Rev: eagle standing left on thunderbolt; to left, P above monogram
    Ref: Svoronos 252; SNG Copenhagen 69; Noeske 40


    A Ptolemy II bronze:

    [​IMG]
    Ptolemy II, AE 32, Svoronos 760. Ex Professor James R. Eaton (1834-1897).

    Many of the bronzes I've posted to CT and on my website are now incorrectly attributed. One of these days months years I'll update my website :oops:. Hopefully I'll have time starting in January.
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2019
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