I just purchased this (Silver) Ptolemy with a massacred 'reverse'. I am hoping that someone might see something on the 'obverse' design that would help me to identify the ruler (at least)? On the 'reverse', I can make out 'OY', so I am guessing that there is an eagle in there somewhere? I haven't received the coin yet, so I only have the seller's pictures to go by. Any assistance is welcome. Thanks. EDIT: I have been through all 12 of the Ptolemys on 'Wildwinds' but I cannot find what I would call a 'match'.
Sorry, I'm not familiar enough with these to make an educated guess from the bust. If it were mine I would probably spend some time on vcoins, wildwinds, etc. looking for something similar. Hopefully someone chimes in with a better answer.
I assume its a silver Tetradrachm , weight around 14 gram diameter 25mm ? For sure it has an eagle on the reverse, and looking at the OY , I think this one comes close, but without the monograms in the field its just an educated guess. Ptolemy I Soter tet:
What is the weight of your coin, Topcat? It might help narrow the field a bit because standards changed over the years, dramatically during Ptolemy I's reign and subtly in later eras. I feel certain that it is not one of the earliest Ptolemaic rulers-- not Ptolemy I, not Ptolemy II-- based on the portrait. Ptolemy I and II's portraits show rounder features with a puffiness at the brow and lateral eye. The later portraits have more compact and angular features, like your coins. Browsing the Ptolemy plates in SNG Copenhangen volume 8 (the only volume I own), I'd put yours at Ptolemy VI or later based on what I can glean from the portrait. Since these Ptolemaic coins are generally identified by features found on the reverse, you're probably out of luck in terms of getting a definite answer.
The style is consistent with the much later Ptolemies. They get more abstract and less artistic. Look at my Ptolemy X here to see what I mean.
I apologize to all for buying this coin. Being (relatively) new to collecting 'ancients' I was so surprised to see a silver Ptolemy for sale, (pretty much all of the Ptolemys that I had seen before were bronze), that I grabbed it. My 'enthusiasm' over-ruled my better judgement and I took little notice of the coin's over-all condition. (The price was 'right', too, at US$53.50 landed.) Thank you all for your constructive comments. The seller says that the coin is 27 mm., and 12.64 gm. (Again, my apologies. I should have put those up earlier.) Do they help? I am guessing that with the damage to the reverse the weight might be a bit 'light'?
