Ptolemaic Kings of Egypt, AE Oktobol, 246 to 222 BC Ptolemy III Euergetes; Mint: Alexandria ? Obv: Laureate head of Zeus Ammon right, border dots. Rev: Eagle with open wings standing left on thunderbolt, looking right; E between legs. ΠTOΛEMAI[OY] BAΣIΛ[EΩΣ]. border dots. The coin appears to be double struck. The obverse is flat on its high points, but shows no signs of a double strike. The reverse has two centering dots. One dot is at the coin’s center. The second dot is about 1/3rd of the way to the edge at 2 o’clock and is mostly filled. The reverse legend, ΠTOΛ...EMAI...[OY], is on two lines. The first 4 letters are farther from the edge and stop at the top of a second wing. The next 4 letters are closer to the edge and run off the flan. 80.8 grams 11 h 46 mm dia X 7.5 mm thick; the coin’s diameter varies from 45.4 to 46.4 mm and the thickness at the edge varies from 5.9 to 7.0 mm. You can see the under strike at the thin edge. Sear 7782 I followed Ptolemaic Bronze Denomination Series (ptolemybronze.com) to determine Ptolemy III vs Ptolemy II. I could not find how to determine mint, and picked the most common mint given in online attributions. I am not sure what the letters between the eagle's legs: E & Λ and no mark mean. I have seen several hockey puck posts in CT. Someone with a bit of background in these can let me know if I picked the right ruler and mint.
It's quite nice and curious indeed to acquire one of these "giant" ancient Greek coins. It's also wiser, I think, to consider the condition of the coin in any purchase.
This is another example of my ever-growing 'bucket list' of things to get one representative example of. You guys are a bad influence! :<}
Your ID is correct as far as I know. (The marks between the eagle's legs are just control marks, I don't think they have any discernible meaning.) Mine is also a bit doublestruck on the reverse:
Considering how difficult it must be to stamp an impression onto a bronze coin of that size, it's not at all surprising that many of these coins are double struck. But having two centering dots is another story entirely. @Severus Alexander, I think you've argued (way back on Moneta_L?) that these dots were part of the lathe used to prepare the flans. If that 2nd dot was indeed a centering dot, that would suggest that it was part of the die. So I'm guessing that it's not a centering dot but just the result of corrosion or perhaps a flaw in the flan. But it's still an impressive coin. I want one.
rrdenarius, I dont see a second centering dot and no second letter L anyway Here's my tetrobol of Ptolemy III
That's a huge one @rrdenarius, impressive. A reference for the monograms is Catharine C. Lorber, Coins of the Ptolemaic Empire, Vol. I (2018). In 2018, the American Numismatic Society published the first two volumes of a multi-year project, Coins of the Ptolemaic Empire, by American numismatist Catharine C. Lorber, who has spent decades studying this material. https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/coinweek-ancient-coin-series-the-ptolemies-part-i/ About these Drachms one can find in Catharine C. Lorber, Coins of The Ptolemaic Empire, part I, volume 1, pages 128-129, "In his coin images Zeus-Ammon wears a taenia – an ornament for the head - with a vertical protuberance at the top. It is assumed to be a basileion (the Alexandrian term for the headdress or coiffure of an Egyptian deity) and in this case it must be a miniaturized depiction of the tall double feather crown of Amun, viewed in profile." Had been looking for some time for an octobol and found one that is "almost" but not quite one at the ANA Chicago 2021. Æ Drachm, Egypt, Alexandria, 246 - 222 BC 72.53 g SNG Copenhagen 171; BMC 87; Weiser 71; Noeske 117; Svoronos 964, Plate XXIX, 19; Sear 7817; Monogram 244 from Catharine C. Lorber, Coins of the Ptolemaic Empire, Vol. I (2018). Ob.: Horned head of Zeus Ammon to right, wearing taenia with basileion; dotted border Rev.: ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ on l. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ on r. Eagle with closed wings standing to l. on thunderbolt, monogram Chi-Ro between legs, cornucopiae bound with royal diadem at left; dotted border
My example of the Ptolemy III octobol, it appears that the obverse on this coin also has some appearance of doubling. This was the largest monetary object in my whole collection until I started collecting Swedish plate money about 20 years ago. This is an AE46, I've never weighed it though.
