Ptolemy IV, Philopater I

I've said it before, but it needs to be said again. I love big bronze and I cannot lie.

I needed a bit of retail therapy last week and this came through my email from vcoins and was within my budget so I pulled the trigger.

The coin:


The attribution:
Ptolemy IV, Philopater I
AE38, 38.15g
221 - 205 BC
Obverse: Diademed head of Zeus Ammon right
Reverse: ΠTOΛEMIAOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ, eagle standing left on thunderbolt, looking back at cornucopiae under right wing


Let's see some of your big bronze Ptolemys or other coins of Ptolemy IV the father lover.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

That's NICE!!! A great result to you retail therapy!

Mine is very similar, but without a cornucopia...

Ptolemy IV Philopator, 222-205/4 BC
AE Tetrobol, Alexandria mint.
Obverse: Head of Zeus-Ammon right, wearing tainia.
Reverse: Eagle standing left, head right, on thunderbolt; ΣE between legs.
References: Svoronos 1148
Size: 37mm, 37.4g

At the 37-38mm in size and 37-38g in weight, they CERTAINLY are pleasing to hold in hand. Great new coin, buddy!!

 

Nice catch! Mine is about the same size but a bit heavier:


Ptolemy IV Philopator, Ptolemaic Kings of Egypt, AE tetrobol, ca. 222–204 BC, Alexandreia mint. Obv: diademed head of Zeus-Ammon r. Rev: BA[ΣIΛEΩΣ] ΠTOΛEMAIOY; eagle with wings spread standing l. on thunderbolt, head r.; ΣE monogram between legs; countermark: cornucopia in rectangular incuse. 36.5mm, 44.38g. Ref: Svoronos 1149; Weiser 97 var. (without countermark); SNG Copenhagen 210–211.

 

In looking at Wolf's PtolemyBronze site, I'm wondering if your's is actually Ptolemy III Tetrobol/Pentobol, Svoronos 1172?
http://ptolemybronze.com/ptolemy_series.html

Ptolemy III - Alexandria EPSILON or LAMDA or 'Plain' Series 4
​

On ACSearch, I see either III or IV listed with little rhyme or reason... Maybe someone can shed some light?
https://www.acsearch.info/search.ht...s=1&thesaurus=1&order=0&currency=usd&company=

 

Nice mini hockey puck @furryfrog02 - good pick-up of Iwaennetjerwy-menkhwy Setepptah Userkare Sekhemankhamun, a name that means "Heir of the [two] Beneficent Gods, Chosen of Ptah, Powerful is the Soul of Re, Living Image of Amun."

He was somewhat dissolute according to the sources, favoring strong drink and other pleasures and ignoring foreign affairs, hence Syria was lost to the Seleucid Kingdom and the natives also revolted in Upper Egypt. Also, silver came into short supply and as a result, more of the large bronze types were struck. He eventually recruited an army of 55,000 men and marched against Antiochus III at Raffa where he was victorious, or at least the Seleucid forces were turned back...

 

Ptolemy lll/lV AE Reduced Drachm
OBS: Head of Zeus Ammon
REV: Eagle facing left on thunderbolt.
Cornucopia with fillets in Left Field
ΧΡ Chrestogram between legs
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ
Sv 964
40mm 73.9gm

I use it as a paperweight.

 

I have seen many reeded edges on coins before but this is the first coin on a reeded edge. ID's are my best guesses.
Ptolemy III AE36

Ptolemy II AE46 - I know at least three people here have coins heavier than mine.

 

Everyone,

I also thought it was Ptolemy III base of ptolemybronze.com and also wildwinds. In gact, I had a whole different post written up but I figured I was just missing the right resources so I scrapped it.
I felt like an idiot for thinking I had found ANOTHER misattributed coin. Now I feel stupid for not following my gut and doing some more research first.

 

Nice coin @furryfrog02, and that is one big coin seeing the comparison with the US silver dollar.

My largest Ptolemy AE is from the grandfather of Ptolemy IV (father of Ptolemy III) and is quite a bit smaller than your coin at 27.7mm and 17.9g. Shown here on top of a US dollar.
Ptolemaic Kings of Egypt, Ptolemy II Philadelphos, 285-246 BC, Æ Diobol, Alexandreia mint, Series 2, Struck circa 285-261/0 BC
Obv: Diademed head of Zeus-Ammon right
Rev: Eagle with open wings standing left on thunderbolt; monogram over shield before, o between legs
Ref: Svoronos 586; Weiser 11

 

And mine at 72.21 grams.

 

Very very nice coin

 

PIV


Egypt Ptolemy IV 221-205 BC AE Tet 40mm 7.2mm thick 69.5g Zeus Ammon Eagle

 

Trying to picture these coins that are basically the same diameter as mine but are almost 2x the weight. I love the heft of this coin.

 

I just received a mixed lot of these that had been lost in shipping purgatory for the last three months. I didn't realize the size/scale of them (from the pic) until they showed up.

They came along with another small mixed lot, but I was still surprised at the weight of the small parcel in hand.

I have a few others of these Ptolemaic AE Zeus/Eagle coins. They are among my favorite AE types for the heft, however, most are around 25-35mm in size.

The largest one pictured below comes in at 42mm and weighs in at 66.54g.

 

Ptolemy III


Egypt Ptolemy III AE Tet 41mm 7.2mm thick 67.5g Zeus Ammon Eagle Cornucopia XP Chi-Rho

 

Those Egyptians and Greeks at the time reported many undiagnosed cases of tendonitis from hauling bags of these coins.

 

At least you wouldn't have to worry about losing the because they are so small.

I wonder what one of these beast's purchasing power was.

 

This one is a chip off the ol' block...

Ptolemaic Kings of Egypt. Ptolemy IV Philopator, 222-205/204 BC. Æ Drachm (43mm, 70.68g, 11h). Alexandreia mint, Series 5C, probably before 219/220 BC. Obv: Horned head of Zeus right, wearing taenia with basileion above forehead; dotted border. Rev: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ; Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, with wings closed; filleted cornucopia to left, AI between legs. Ref: CPE B493; Svoronos 1126; SNG Copenhagen 199-200. Edge flaw.

 

DINKY PTOLEMIES


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



Egypt Ptolemy II 285-274 BC AE 17mm Eagle Cornuc SV 762

 

Hi All,

This is my largest Ptolemy IV. [My largest Ptolemaic is a Ptolemy III, Ex-Frank Robinson (CPE-B0365; Sv-0446). That one weighs in at 91.17 grams.]

BRONZE COINAGE WITH CLUB MINTMARK AND ALEXANDRIA CONTROLS SERIES 5, BRONZE WEIGHT STANDARD 2

Series with CLUB and ΔΙ, after the battle of Raphia



Æ DRACHM
Size: 42mm
Weight: 67.88 g
Axis: 11:00
OBV: Zeus-Ammon head, facing right and wearing diadem with floral ornament in front. Centration depression. Dotted border not visible.
REV: Εagle on thunderbolt facing left, wings closed; ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ on left, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ on right. In left field: club of Melquart/Herakles, mint symbol of
Tyre. Countermark (ivy leaf in circular punch) in left field on base of club. letters ΔΙ between the Εagle's legs. centration depresion. Dotted border.
NOTE: The Egyptian issue began in 219 BCE, at the time of the betrayal of Syria and Phoenicia to Antiochus III, and continued until after the battle of Raphia. The Tyrian bronzes marked ΔΙ can thus be dated after the recovery of Syria and Phoenicia by Ptolemy IV.

Provenance: Ex- Frank Kovacs Collection #R2916FKC110

∎ Mean weight of series: 68.36g, based on 33 specimens; see Wolf (2013).
∎ Known reverse countermarks: IVY LEAF in round punch (left field), FACING EAGLE WITH SPREAD WINGS in square punch (right field), TRIPOD (right field).
∎ Refs: Svoronos 1129 [20 listed]; Köln 48 (Ptolemy II); formerly P De Vicci coll (with ivy leaf countermark); formerly D Doswell coll, Decatur, Illinois (with eagle countermark); D Wolf coll, GAE 584 (with tripod countermark). For control-linked bronzes of Alexandria, see CPE B495-B496.

- Broucheion