Greek Coinages, PTOLEMAIC KINGS OF EGYPT, Ptolemy III (246-222), series 5 Drachm, Alexandria, head of Zeus-Ammon right wearing tænia, rev. πτολεμαιου βασιλεωσ, eagle standing left on thunderbolt, cornucopia bound with diadem in left field, χρ monogram between eagle’s legs, 66.24g (Lorber CPE B395; Svoronos 964; SNG Copenhagen 171-2; BMC 87). About extremely fine, beautiful tan and red patina £200-£260

Provenance: A. Scammell Collection

The Macedonian kings in Alexandria created these unusually large coins in an attempt to appease the native Egyptian population. By assimilating into their design aspects of the old Egyptian monetary system, the Ptolemaic authorities hoped to make their coinage more accessible to their subjects. Recent study has shown that the value of each coin was set relative to its approximate weight; a system which married the Greek institution of fiduciary money and the Egyptian system of weighing pieces of copper and silver out for use in transaction. The weight standard used for these coins also borrowed form Egyptian tradition. Within Egypt’s bullion monetary system the deben was a key unit of account, equal in weight to five Attic tetradrachms, or roughly 90g. When Ptolemy I reduced the weight of his tetradrachms to 14.2g the weight of the deben accordingly dropped to around 70g. It is to that standard that the large Ptolemaic bronzes, including this impressive example, were struck